Walsh Construction Co.’s commitment to a diverse construction industry extends into women’s and children’s programs, including the “Women in Trades Career Fair”, of which we have been a sponsor and contributor since its inception in 1993.
Produced annually, the interactive, Women in Trades Career Fair is the largest non-traditional career fair of its kind, offering dozens of hands-on activities designed to introduce women and girls, aged middle school through high school, to the possibility of a future career in the trades. Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. is the guiding force behind the this industry-sponsored and volunteer-powered event, working with local construction companies, transportation departments, utilities and apprenticeship programs, offering women of all ages an introduction to the high paying jobs in the building, construction, mechanical, technical and utility trades.
The fair is broken into three days, with middle school girls attending on Thursday (over 500 girls attended), high school girls on Friday (over 600 attendees) and the general public on Saturday (over 500 registered). Located at the NECA-IBEW Electrical Training Center, the Fair encourages people to participate in hands-on workshops; try out tools; meet employers; learn about apprenticeship and training opportunities; meet successful tradeswomen including electricians, carpenters, lineworkers, heavy equipment operators; and more.
Walsh Construction Co. led seven interactive workshops over two days with over 100 middle-school and high-school girls from seven different schools throughout Oregon. Each workshop is roughly an hour long and includes training on the use of power drills as well as the teamwork, communication and effort required to build a house. The girls helped to carry and build walls, trusses, the roof, a door and windows. A big shout-out to Brandi Bernhardt for successfully spearheading and managing Walsh’s participation in the fair and to Karen McDaniel for onsite management. A big thank you to team members for their two-day participation including Tissi Snelson, Synda Warren, Sky Cooper, Erika O’Callaghan, Alicia Yoder, Mandy Byrd, Ryan Matthews and a big shout-out to Gabe Metteer and Josh Schafer at the Equipment Yard for their help.