For the past few years, the DuPage County Building & Construction Trades Council has sponsored the DuPage County Trade Apprenticeship Expo. CISCO (Construction Industry Service Corporation) co-sponsors the popular event, which encourages high-school students and post-graduates from the area to explore a career with the building trades. This year’s expo will be held on Thursday, November 10th from 3:30pm -6:30pm.

“It’s our opportunity to throw open the doors and invite everyone to come in – residents, students, parents, guidance counselors, teachers – and learn what each trade is about,” said PowerForward DuPage Executive Director Karyn Charvat. The expo is held at the IBEW Local 701 Union Hall (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers), home to PowerForward DuPage. The expo started in 2018 when Charvat noticed a gap forming in the trade industries.

“With the baby boomers retiring, they are really going to be leaving quite a gap in the workforce,” she said. “And realizing younger generations don’t necessarily have the interest in the trades that other generations before them once did, we knew there needed to be some external effort, on behalf of all the trades.” During the expo, attendees interact with over a dozen of DuPage County’s building and construction trade affiliates and learn about each organization’s apprenticeship program and the benefits unique to each affiliate.

The event is free to attend, but advance registration is required. Click here to register!

If you are a DuPage County educator and would like your high school to be contacted directly for participation, please contact PowerForward DuPage’s Executive Director Karyn Charvat at (630) 791-2660.