Florida’s concrete industry is experiencing a skilled labor shortage. To give students a look into the field, Florida Gulf Coast University engineering professor Claude Villiers spearheads a yearly event, with professionals from the industry demonstrating the basics of working with concrete through mixing, making cylinders, testing for density, and more.
Event partner Rafael Jimenez has been with the event for a decade.
"One of the things that we try to do is pass on the knowledge of the materials and the best uses of the materials," Jimenez said. "We try to educate the community on the usefulness of construction materials in Florida."
Students volunteered to do seven hands-on concrete demonstrations. Civil engineering junior Kelly Guerrero-Flores had wanted to come to the concrete expo since her freshman year. She says she had a blast.
"It gives me a real-world demonstration of what I'm studying in the class, because you can really only learn so much from your book. So having the opportunity to do something in the real world always helps you learn more," Guerrero-Flores said.
Another goal of the event was to help students see themselves in a professional setting. Villiers explained.
"When the students see all these professionals, they feel they belong," Villiers said. "They belong to the degree. This is where they want to be. This is where they want to continue their degree. They get access to so many different opportunities."
In addition to hands-on experiences, opportunities to network with professionals and scholarship applications were available at the expo.
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