6,000 – that’s the number of people who attended IKORCC open houses in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. In a whirlwind month of open houses,  high school students and community leaders visited training centers in Greenwood, Warsaw, Terre Haute, Newburgh, Merrillville, Louisville, Grayson, Columbus, Monroe, Rossford, and Richfield.

 “I was considering becoming an electrician, but after I learned about the millwrights I changed my mind. I can’t wait to get started,” a high school senior at the Merrillville, Indiana open house said.

This high school senior summed it up perfectly. At the Indiana Kentucky Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters we know that once students see our training in-person and learn more about the program, joining the apprenticeship is a no-brainer.

Students Get Hands-On Experience

Students particularly enjoyed the hands-on activities including virtual welding, nail challenge, and the floor covering challenge. Next year training centers plan to add a hands-on ICRA (Infection Control Risk Assesment) challenge which will teach students the importance of using barriers during construction in medical facilities to protect patients.

According to the Department of Labor, careers in skilled trades like carpentry, flooring, and welding are in high demand and the need for skilled workers will continue to rise with coming infrastructure improvements. This fact was evident in Grayson, Kentucky on Thursday when over 1,200 students visited the Grayson, Kentucky training center open house.

High Demand Jobs in Skilled Trades Help Boost Attendance

Over 30 busses lined the drive to the Grayson, Kentucky training center where students learned about our apprenticeship, participated in hands-on activities and met with contractors ready-to-hire.

“We have a great partnership with all of the local schools and a lot of people in Grayson work in the trades, so students understand the great life they can have with a career in our trades. Getting them out here to see it first-hand solidifies that idea and gets them ready to start their apprenticeship right after high school,” says IKORCC Senior Business Representative Jerry Yates.

Richfield, Ohio also had a very large turnout with 1100 attendees getting to see additional areas of our crafts, including millwork, pile driving, cabinetry, furniture making, stairs, and ceiling work.

“Work is so good here and word of that really alerts people to the fact that there are bonafide opportunities here. In this part of Ohio, we’ve got the majority of Ohio’s career connection partner schools, and these schools want their students to see what the next step is and that is our apprenticeship,” says Dan Sustin, training director for the Richfield Carpenters Training Center Campus.

Thank you to all the students, teachers, community leaders, politicians, vendors, contractors, and staff that helped make this year our most successful yet! Check out all the photos & videos from each open house by following the links below:

Indiana

Greenwood Carpenters Training Center

Merrillville Carpenters Training Center

Newburgh Carpenters Training Center

Terre Haute Carpenters Training Center

Warsaw Carpenters Training Center

Kentucky

Louisville Carpenters Training Center

Grayson Carpenters Training Center

Ohio

Columbus Carpenters Training Center

Monroe Carpenters Training Center

Richfield Carpenters Training Center

Rossford Carpenters Training Center

Learn more about our apprenticeship and how to apply here.