Pro Trades Career Days attracts students from across the U.P.

SANDS TOWNSHIP — The 2019 Upper Peninsula Professional Trades Career Days started Wednesday morning, which is the biggest career day of this type in the U.P. Students from all over the Upper Peninsula made their way to the Marquette County Fairgrounds this morning for the first of two Professional Trades Careers Days, where they’ll be able to learn about and experience different trade professions first hand.

Several booths from local trades companies and unions were set up inside for the students to interact with, including electricians, painters, brick layers, and metal workers. An event like this has taken a lot of people planning for the entire year, and for them, they’re happy to see the students enjoying the opportunity to learn more about the trades.

“We’ve been planning this for a year, and it’s the biggest career fair in the U.P. of it’s type,” said Tony Retaskie. “And we’ve been planning for a year, so this is great, the kids are here. We’re going to see, between today and tomorrow, 1200 young high school students. And a lot of them have already had their eyes open to whats available to them.”

“It’s great to see these kids having so much fun out here and engaged in the activities, there’s so much for them to do,” said Jim Yates. “We’ve had good weather, so that’s been nice as well, and it’s been very successful so far.”

For many of the students that are interested in going into the trades, this could be their first opportunity to learn first–hand about different career options, and get feedback from professionals actually working in those fields.

“For me, it’s very informational and fascinating to see all of the different job choices for my future,” said Arianna, a senior that attends Stephenson Area Public Schools. “Considering I’m thinking about going into a welding field, seeing the different opportunities that await me are very nice.”

Outside in the field there were several chances for hands–on demos using different equipment, such as excavators, lifts, asphalt rollers, and jackhammers.

While there have been many different activities that left students smiling, this event is also about helping students find a potential in–demand career after high school, and they’ll have to prepare academically for them as well.

“We hope that the students are realizing the academic alignment with these professional trades and they need to do well in school,” said Yates. “A lot of those core academics align with getting a good job and these professional trades, and there’s a lot of demand locally and they pay very well.”

This afternoon also featured an open session for anyone to attend the career days, and there will be even more high school students that will be attending the fairgrounds to participate on Thursday.