ConstructReach, an industry workforce development initiative and consultancy, hosted their signature community engagement event “I Built This!” (IBT) Aug. 29-30 at Greenbriar Mall to provide a platform for construction companies, educators, students, household brand names, and the surrounding community to gather for a day filled with learning, fun, and promise.
IBT Atlanta invited hundreds of high school students from neighboring school districts to learn more about the industry and participate in hands-on activities relating to construction design and development.
Each day over 100 high school students, aged 16-18 years, from neighboring school districts are invited to learn more about the construction industry and participate in hands-on activities related to carpentry, fixturing, design and technology, mechanical, and plumbing. Students also were able to connect with general contractors and other industry professionals to discuss internships, career opportunities, and scholarships.
ConstructReach, founded by CEO Paul Robinson, was created to address the construction and manufacturing workforce shortage. Additionally, the IBT initiative was created in 2019 for the same reason also by promoting collaboration between the education and construction sectors.
Photo by Isaiah Singleton/The Atlanta Voice
IBT events introduces the industry and career opportunities to the next generation, in turn building a diverse and talented pipeline to keep the industry moving forward.
Now in its fifth year, ConstructReach’s IBT initiative has been hosted in cities across the country, including Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Detroit. Through these innovative events and a variety of services offered to its members, ConstructReach aims to transform the construction industry within the next decade.
Some industry partners at the event included Fulcrum Construction, International Code Council, and Target Corporation. Also, school district partners included Fulton County School District, Dekalb County School District, Atlanta Public School District, Henry County School District, and Cobb County School District.
Robinson said this year’s IBT event is a “full circle moment”.
“We started our first IBT event in Atlanta back in 2019, so it feels so good to be back and we got a lot of great feedback, so that let us know that we really had something going on with this initiative,” he said.
Photo by Isaiah Singleton/The Atlanta Voice
Additionally, Robinson said their mission at ConstructReach is to increase the visibility of the construction industry by “educating students about career opportunities, connecting general contractors to interns with innovative internship cirriculums, creating content, experiences, and a ConstructReach Community to expose diverse populations to construction careers.”
“Over half of the construction workforce is over the age of 46 and will be retiring. ‘I built this!’ introduces diverse students to construction opportunities to work toward changing those statistics,” Robinson said.
Aubrey Hunt from Booker T. Washington High School said she really enjoyed the program and loved being there.
“I really enjoyed the program and I learned a lot about coding, building houses, and I’m excited to learn more. The importance of an event like this, to me, is having students come and learn from professionals in the business. It’s amazing,” she said.
Devon Richardson from Campbell High School said he didn’t expect the event to be so fun and engaging.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I’m happy its engaging and I’m learning hands-on material. This helps a lot when it comes to deciding what I want to do in life”, he said.
