A group of Quad Cities union trades and contractors are hoping to open the curtain on the opportunities in the trades industry by hosting a hands-on career expo for both students and other job seekers.
Building on the success of the first-ever Building Futures Career Expo in 2024, which hosted hundreds of QC area students, this year’s expo has been expanded to provide the general public with the same experience as the 1,600 students invited to participate. More than 45 trade-related hands-on activities will be available to students and adults.
The second annual Building Futures Career Expo will be a daylong event for the students from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18, at the QCCA Expo Center in Rock Island. But from 2:30-4 p.m., the public is invited to the Building Futures Career Expo Community Trades Session where they can meet with dozens of union trades, local union contractors and Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee training staff to explore industry careers.
“Last year’s inaugural event for local students was such an immense success, we realized the general public also can greatly benefit from this one-of-a-kind event,” Nick Steponavicius, director of workforce initiatives for the BuildTheQC organizing committee, said in a news release. “This is an opportunity to change lives and literally build the future of our great community.”
The Building Futures Career Expo is a joint effort between the Associated Contractors of the Quad Cities (ACQC), the Associated General Contractors of the Quad Cities (AGCQC) and the Quad City Construction Industry Advancement Trust (QCCIAT). Primary sponsors include: Estes Construction, General Constructors Inc., Phoenix Corporation of The Quad Cities., Russell and the Tri-City Group.
Throughout both the student and public sessions, tradespeople will offer interactive activities in plumbing, electrical work, carpentry, sheet-metal and HVAC work, cement masonry, plastering, bricklaying, roofing, ironwork and more. Career seekers also can sign up for apprenticeship training on site.
Attendees can connect with local industry leaders, including representatives from Bush Construction, Crawford Company, Estes Construction, General Constructors, Inc., the Phoenix Corporation of the Quad Cities, Russell, the Tri City Group, Valley Construction, and other local contractors.
Some of the expo activities will include:
- A virtual reality electrical training center, manned by instructors from the QC NECA and IBEW Local 145 JATC.
- An underwater construction demonstration tank supplied by J.F. Brennan Co., a Wisconsin-based industry leader in marine construction.
- An Estes Construction-manned booth where participants can build adaptive gardening boxes that will be donated to the Quad Cities Botanical Center.
- Other interactive opportunities to experience work in painting, heavy highway equipment operation, plumbing and pipefitting, cement masonry, HVAC and sheet metal work, and more.
“This event is a next-level learning event, and last year’s expo helped several of our students identify their particular interests in a building trades career,” Steve Smithers, special populations coordinator at QC Career and Technical Education Consortium, said in the release. The program is located at United Township High School. “Exposure to the trades alongside many of the most successful members of the Quad Cities union construction industry is a rare and impactful opportunity,” he added.
P.J. Foley, president/CEO of The Associated General Contractors of the Quad Cities, said the expo is an important step in the ongoing growth of the local construction workforce. He added: “We believe this year’s event, with the addition of the Community Trades Expo session, will do even more to further the growth of the union trades construction industry workforce in the Quad Cities and beyond.”
Mr. Foley said the hands-on activities, demonstrations and learning labs will give all participants “a chance to see where their talents and passions fit best within the trades. This kind of exposure and these experiences can be helpful tools for attracting future union construction leaders.”
Learn more at buildtheqc.org/careers/career-expo.
