Georgia Trade Industry Expo targets students, record attendance

ATLANTA - College enrollment is declining. One of the reasons, according to a national data tracker, is that alternatives that cost less and potentially pay more are available. 

One of those alternatives are trade schools. And nowhere was that option more apparent than at the 2023 Construction Ready Expo. This annual event gives young people an opportunity to see just what trades are available. Two big things we noticed this year: more job options and many more women.

And this year's event at the Georgia World Congress Center last week coincided with "Women in Construction Week."

"The data is there. We've been tracking," said Construction Ready president and CEO Scott Shelar. "We've seen enrollment, as far as female enrollment, go from 17 percent to 35 percent."

Construction Ready is a nonprofit that helps to provide skilled construction training to the next generation to ready them for the workforce.

Women in the trade industry

In 2016, Courtney Brinkman took a welding class to get out of math class. That move lit a fire under her that changed her future. She created an art sculpture, entered that year's expo contest, and won a gold medal. That led to a full trade school scholarship. But she was still on the fence between that and a traditional, four-year university.

"I said, 'Hey, it's a full tuition scholarship. I may as well go and see what it's like, see if it makes my mind up. It's free.' I ended up going, and I fell more in love with it," she said.

She’s now a high school welding instructor.

This year’s expo had a record showing of 9,000 attendees. There were 20 different types of construction jobs to look into from plumbing to building. New this year was the water industry.

A big annual feature is the skills competition. They had more than 30 of them where young talent could show off what they’ve learned through their trade programs.

"I feel like the pendulum has really swung where people are saying, maybe we need to take a closer look at the skill trades. Those seem to be not only a viable option, but maybe a better option," Scott Shelar said.

Hands-on American labor is desperately needed in this country. But it often comes down to one very important thing: Can I earn a living this way?

"You can make a lot of money in the skill trades and a lot of it is the demand. We cannot find enough workers in the industry," Shelar added.

Georgia has some of the most robust trade school options in the country and are well worth exploring. Start here: Georgia trade school options.