Career and Technical Education students demonstrated their skills at the 16th Annual Craft Championships at the Augusta Civic Center last month.
The event is hosted each year by the Associated Builders and Contractors of Maine, the leading association representing Maine’s construction industry, and the Downeast Construction Education Foundation.
During the event, there were over 24,500 square feet of hands-on activities that saw high school students at work in various skills. While some students were working inside, other students were working outside in welding trailers, line trucks, or are driving a boom truck. Nearly 1,300 students and instructors from Maine high schools and CTE facilities attended and participated in over thirty hands-on construction activities with ABC members throughout the day. The students were also able to visit with representatives from community colleges to learn about furthering their education in the construction industry.
Among the other activities occurring that day was the annual Policymaker’s Breakfast. The guest speaker was Commissioner for the Department of Labor Jeanne Paquette who spoke on the impact of Career & Technical Education in the state of Maine.
“The Downeast Construction Education Foundation works in partnership with Associated Builders and Contractors, Career and Technical Education providers and passionate instructors to provide a first class educational pathway to a successful career in the construction industry,” said Alan Burton of Cianbro, Chairman for the Downeast Construction Education Foundation.
Maine’s Craft Championships event is unique to any others in the nation because our industry tradespeople work directly with high school students on a wide range of construction projects
To find out more about ABC, visit www.abcmaine.org, and information about Maine’s Career and Technical Education can be found here or by contacting the Maine DOE’s Director of CTE Margaret Harvey at margaret.harvey@maine.gov.