More Than 900 Tulsa Students Attend 'Build My Future Career' Fair

More than 900 high school students from across the Tulsa metro area put down their pencils and picked up construction tools at the Build my Future Career Fair at the Tulsa Tech Riverside Campus.

Over 30 vendors were in attendance and allowed students to test their skills in various hands-on experiments.

As the CEO of the Home Builders Association, Jeffery Smith wants the trade industry workforce to grow. He hopes that happens by getting students interested as they graduate from high school.

“From the construction industry in the next three years, we will need two million new employees across the nation. So there's an immense opportunity for students to begin to learn a trade and become employed in the industry and be very successful for a long period of time,” Smith said.

Local trade employers like Dean West are trying to make this experience all about the students.

"I just love dealing with the kids and seeing them get interested,” West said. “They're excited to get out and when they stop at our booth, they get hung up for a while talking. I really enjoy that."

West didn’t go to college and decided to get into construction, after taking a couple wood shop courses in high school.

"I've taken those skills and turned it into a very large construction business,” West said.

He wants to show kids a different career path that can make them proud.

"When the kids finally get it, it's like a light comes on and it's just something that entertains them so they keep investigating,” West said.

It was the third time the Home Builders Association partnered with Tulsa Tech to put on this event.