Construction Rodeo

About 100 high school students from Burke and surrounding counties competed Wednesday in the annual Construction Rodeo, testing what they have learned in their construction classes.

Burke students earned first- and second-place overall in the competition.

“The Construction Rodeo gives students a taste of what’s coming up in the construction trades,” WPCC Construction Trades Instructor Eric Hurley said. “We get them through the Rodeo, and they get a taste of every little thing, then they can look forward into their futures to see what they really want to do.”

Several Burke County students placed in the Top 10:

• Joshua H. – East Burke High (First overall)
• Zach W. East Burke High (Second overall)
• Mason S. – Jimmy C. Draughn High School
• Micah T. – Freedom High School
• Aaron D. – Robert L. Patton

Skills stations included screw driving station, measurement station, blueprint reading, electric wiring, and heavy equipment simulators.

Also on hand were several area trades businesses to highlight the future employment possibilities for students who complete training.

County Commissioner Randy Burns generated the idea for the rodeo in 2018 when he was then a member of the Burke County Board of Education. The competition’s goal is to showcase the construction trade.

Hurley said that the need for skilled trades workers has reached a crisis point.

“People are retiring, and we are not filling those spots in,” Hurley said. “Last year, there were six licensed plumbers (in Burke County) who either retired or passed away, and we only had one get his license. If we don’t (fill those jobs), our infrastructure is going to fall through. Each business owner out there has a building or a house that must be maintained. If they don’t know how to do it, they’re going to have to call construction trades to come and fix it. If we don’t get the students involved with that, we’re not going to have anybody around who’s qualified to do it.”

The emphasis on construction is beginning to pay off, said Michael Daniels, WPCC dean of applied technologies. Less than a half dozen students were enrolled in construction programs at WPCC five years ago. Today, about 50 students are in the program.