Nearly 900 students gathered in Anchorage to explore careers in construction and transportation during the annual Alaska Construction Career Day, an event designed to address workforce shortages and connect young people with hands-on trade opportunities.
Held at the Alaska State Fairgrounds, the event featured interactive exhibits where students rotated through stations showcasing power tools, heavy equipment, firetrucks and live trade demonstrations.
For many students, the experience offered a firsthand look at career paths they had previously only heard about.
“I’m getting like to learn about more what my dad does because he’s a plumber,” said eighth-grader Adriana Nagle. “So, it’s actually really cool to see opportunities I could do instead of like going to college.”
Students said the event exceeded expectations, particularly due to the interactive nature of the exhibits.
“There’s so much stuff I didn’t even know existed that was here,” said eighth-grader Jerrek Gruenberg.
Another student, Alana Varis, said she initially expected a more traditional setup.
“I wasn’t really expecting a lot. I was kind of just like expecting to go around booths and like gather stickers and stuff, but there’s actually activities here, which is really cool,” Varis said.
The hands-on format is a key component of the event, allowing students to engage directly with tools and techniques used in various trades, from plumbing and electrical work to transportation and heavy equipment operations.
Event organizers say the initiative is critical as Alaska faces ongoing workforce shortages across construction and related industries.
“Every one of these union halls and apprenticeship programs will tell you we need people, and we need people to not only go through and graduate but also stay in Alaska. The demand is high,” said organizer Zhenia Peterson.
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Peterson said the goal is not only to spark interest but also to provide students with clear pathways into the trades.
“We hope that folks who are interested in going to the trades that they got the information that they were looking for and that they know what they want to do,” Peterson said.
The event also highlights alternatives to traditional four-year college routes, emphasizing apprenticeship programs and immediate entry into the workforce.
As construction activity continues to grow across the state, industry leaders see events like this as essential to building a sustainable talent pipeline.
Organizers say Alaska Construction Career Day has become an important annual tradition and hope to expand its reach in the coming years to ensure more students are exposed to high-demand career opportunities.
Originally reported by Dani Tompkins in Alaska News Source.
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