Georgia students face off in Cobb County construction competition

COBB COUNTY, Ga. - Over 130 students from across metro Atlanta competed in a construction skills competition in Cobb County Tuesday.

It was one of eight competitions being held across by the Associated General Contractors of Georgia across the state all with the goal of introducing students to the construction industry.

As part of the skills challenge, the students competed in areas like carpentry, plumbing, and electrical work.

"We had two hours to build a bench and construct it from the plans and had the wood and everything," said South Paulding High School junior Ellie Stachura.

"It's super fun, and then you get covered in saw dust, and you smell really good the whole day. And you get to actually work with your hands and build and do everything that you need to do," she added.

The students also had the chance to meet with industry professionals. This comes as Georgia ranks among some of the fastest growing states across the country.

Over 130 students from across metro Atlanta competed in a construction skills competition in Cobb County Tuesday.

"Our industry's number one challenge right now is workforce. We need everybody. We need carpenters, we need plumbers, we need electricians, we need masons," said Mike Dunham, the CEO of Associated General Contractors of Georgia.

In fact, according to the Association of Builders and Contractors over half a million construction works are needed across the country and a quarter of the current workers are over the age of 55.

"This is a high demand career. There is just a huge demand right now, and it's a very high paying career. A lot of people don't know the kind of money you can make in the construction industry," Dunham explained.

"We teach our kids that just exposing them to this and bringing them to competitions like this give them an opportunity to see what it's really like," Tiffany Barney, Director of the Cobb Innovation and Technology Academy said.

Many students who spoke to FOX 5 say they plan to pursue construction, or similar positions, because they love the idea of designing and engineering something on their own.

In total, 2,300 students from 100 different schools across Georgia will participate in these competitions.