Career Fair Offers Opportunities for Students
Dozens of students and community members were given firsthand demonstrations on career opportunities in the building trades at the Worth Township Career Fair. Township Clerk Eamon McMahon and the Worth Township Community Development Board arranged for the Construction Industry Service Corporation, and the Chicago and Cook County Building Trades, to present the career fair on Tuesday, April 26th at the Worth Township Hall. Through the cooperation of administrators and career counselors of District 229 and all four District 218 schools, interested students now have a clear understanding of the career options available to them.
Frank La Mantia, Curriculum Director for Career and Technical Education at District 218, believes the event provided students with real career opportunities. “We want to build a partnership between the community and the building trades. On a national scale, the goal is to develop partnerships to promote work-based learning to provide students with work-place experiences. The career event gave students a chance to meet union representatives, to learn about apprenticeship programs and career opportunities in the building trades.”
Dominic Stahulak attended the career fair to get more experience on what the trades have to offer. “I am interested in IBEW, the electrical union, because the pay is good and electrical work sounds cool. It also seems like a good field trip for high school kids particularly if you do not want to go to college.”
“Honestly, I don’t know what I want to do after high school so I’m looking for direction,” said Camiron Witkowski. “I’m thinking about getting into the trades more because I don’t want all that college debt.”
Holly McGrath and Lilianna Graytan were both keen on joining the carpenters’ union. “I want to do carpentry. My dream is to flip a house someday,” explained Graytan. McGrath was also considering a career with the carpenters’ union. “I want to join Union Local 272 and be a carpenter like my dad. He works downtown and I want to work with him doing tradeshows.”
Electrical workers IBEW Local 134, Sprinkler Fitters Local 281, and the Elevator Constructors Local 2 all have their training centers within the township boundary. Other trades represented at the event include IBEW Local 9, Plumbers Local 130, Sheet Metal Workers Local 73, Mid America Regional Council of Carpenters, and Pipefitters Local 597. Kids from H.S. District 229 Oak Lawn High School and H.S. District 218 Delta, Richards, Shepard, and Eisenhower High Schools were in attendance.
Township Supervisor Patricia Joan Murphy grew up in a union household. Her father and brother are Local 134 electricians. She told some of the students “choosing to be a trained tradesperson isn’t just a job. It is a solid career path that will provide skills that will earn not just higher wages but healthcare benefits and income security later in life.” Supervisor Murphy and the Worth Township Board of Trustees were proud to host the event.
Clerk McMahon is also a union carpenter. He related that “Worth Township is home to the highest concentration of union members in the state. I think it’s the reason for our economic strength and resiliency. It’s the reason why our community is the best place to raise a family or start a business. A trained and skilled workforce is the economic backbone of any strong community. Higher safety and training standards at work equate to higher standards of living at home. Even non-union families benefit from this. Union wages set the standard that all other wages are derived from. There has never been a better time to join a union and begin a career in the building trades. We are committed to growing the workforce of the future.”
Worth Township will announce plans for another career event in the fall.
For more information about the unions, visit their websites:
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- IBEW 134 – International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
- Sprinkler Fitters Local 281
- Elevator Constructors Local 2
- IBEW Local 9 – International Brotherhood of Electric Workers
- Plumbers Local 130 UA – Plumbers and Tech Engineers
- Sheet Metal Workers Local 73
- Mid America Regional Council of Carpenters
- Pipefitters Local 597
Dominic Stahulak attended the career fair to get more experience on what the trades have to offer. “I am interested in IBEW, the electrical union, because the pay is good and electrical work sounds cool. It also seems like a good fieldtrip for high school kids particularly if you do not want to go to college.”
Shirley Bennett, Career Facilitator, Alan B. Shepard High School, Community High School District 218 (from left to right)
Camiron Witkowski – “Honestly, I don’t know what I want to do after high school so I’m looking for direction. Thinking about getting into the trades more because I don’t want college debt.”
Lilianna Graytan – “I want to do carpentry like basic home carpentry. My dream is to flip a house someday.”
Holly McGrath – “Just hoping to talk to the unions. I want to join Union 272 and be a carpenter like my dad. He works downtown and I want to work with him doing tradeshows.”
(from left to right)
Frank La Mantia, Curriculum Director Career and Technical Education (District 215), Nikolas Dixon, Will Lammel, Matthew Kieta, and Lindsey Mikols, Career Facilitator at Richards High School
Frank La Mantia, Curriculum Director for Career and Technical Education at District 218, believes the event provided students with real career opportunities. “We want to build a partnership between the community and the building trades. On a national scale, the goal is to develop partnerships to promote work-based learning and provide students with work-place experiences and opportunities. The fair gave students a chance to meet union representatives and receive information about apprenticeship programs and career opportunities in the building trades.”
Jamari McGee – “I came to see what opportunities there are after high school just in case football doesn’t work out- this is my plan B. I’m most interested in CISCO because I love construction ever since I was a kid.”
Roberto Millan – “I came today because I wanted information on the different trades. I really liked the elevators union and I found it to be most interesting because elevators are really unique, and I want something challenging and also it seems to pay well.”