ACG holds trade skills competition Tuesday

(MOULTRIE, Ga)- Hundreds of high school students from across Southwest Georgia were in Moultrie Tuesday to show off their skills.

As part of the  Associated General Contractors of Georgia’s Annual Workforce Alliance Skills Challenge.

“It’s important for us in the contracting and construction industry that young people understand the career path that they could have in construction,” says ACG CEO, Mark Dunham.

Students were tested in fields of carpentry, masonry, woodworking, welding, and electricity to name a few.

Organizer, and FCI Contracting President, Lyndy Jones says that it’s crucial that students this young are taking a hands on interest in careers that require hands-on work.

Jones tells us, “Our workforce is now retiring or getting close to retirement, so we need young people to take their place. I think the last survey I saw said that for every four that are retiring, there’s only one coming into the industry.”

For many of the students who participated in Tuesday’s event, it’s the potential to get a career out of high school off the ground.

“The good thing is, not everyone is big on grades or big on high school. So this is something they can do, and if you go here, you can get a job straight out of high school. Not a lot of people have hands-on jobs,” says Colquitt County High School Student, Henry Underwood.

Each student who participated in the competition also received a $500scholarship from the Tulsa Welding School, who helped host the event.