This year’s Build My Future Construction Showcase saw record attendance Wednesday as nearly 2,700 students from across southwest Missouri descended on the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds EPlex to learn more about construction and skilled trades. The nationally recognized event is organized by the Build My Future Collaborative, spearheaded by the Ozark Region Workforce Development Board in partnership with the Home Builders Association, MODOT, Springfield Contractors Association and the City of Springfield.
“This year’s event was one of the largest, if not the largest, in the nation,” said Mary Ann Rojas, Workforce Development Director for the City of Springfield. We had around 70 exhibitors who provided fun, hands-on activities for students to learn a new skill, and open their eyes to a potential new career once they graduate,” she said.
Since it’s inception in 2017, Springfield’s Build My Future event has become a model for a nationwide movement that now includes events in eight states as well as other parts of Missouri. “This event’s success is largely due to the great collaborative partners as well as the many school districts who send students each year, Rojas said.
In 2018, the National Association of Workforce Boards awarded Springfield’s Build My Future Collaborative with the W.O. Lawton Business Leadership Award. This prestigious award is given annually to a single workforce board in the United States.
For more information, contact communications coordinator Katherine Trombetta at 417-841-3389 or [email protected]
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The Ozark Region Missouri Job Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Program. Auxiliary aides and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. MO TTY users may call 800-735-2966 or contact Missouri Relay at 711.