Local construction industry leaders took a crack this week at showing area high school students how building a future isn't just a play on words.
It seemed to work, as Fort Myers High School's Markham Lancaster explained about the welding trades:
"It's just cool, and there's good money in it, he said after a hands-on experience. "It just gives you opportunity to discover the things they have here."
Lancaster's remarks came at The Lee Building Industry Association's fifth annual Build My Future Lee County, an interactive construction careers showcase for Southwest Florida high school students that took place at JetBlue Park.
Presented by Fallsafe Walls and Ceilings and Wright Construction Group, this hands-on construction career day is hosted in partnership with the Lee County School District and the American Subcontractors Association of Southwest Florida.
The event introduces high school students to diverse and rewarding career opportunities in the building and construction trades.
The event drew more than 700 students from Lee and Hendry counties.
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Yaritza Garcia-Garcia, Island Coast High School, tries soldering for the first time. She was at the event to get an idea of the trades she wants to learn after high school. Lee County’s Build My Future 2025 was held Thursday, October 23rd at JetBlue Park. The event provides invaluable career opportunities for local students by bringing together students, educators, industry professionals, and community partners within the construction field. The event has a shared goal of bridging the skilled workforce gap and sparking interest in construction careers.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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Franzese Plumbing was demonstrating how a camera is used in their field by Allen Tompkins. Lee County’s Build My Future 2025 was held Thursday, October 23rd at JetBlue Park. The event provides invaluable career opportunities for local students by bringing together students, educators, industry professionals, and community partners within the construction field. The event has a shared goal of bridging the skilled workforce gap and sparking interest in construction careers.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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Alana Ease, Young Parent Education Program, tried her hand at stucco. Lee County’s Build My Future 2025 was held Thursday, October 23rd at JetBlue Park. The event provides invaluable career opportunities for local students by bringing together students, educators, industry professionals, and community partners within the construction field. The event has a shared goal of bridging the skilled workforce gap and sparking interest in construction careers.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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— WGCUBuild My Future102325AM
Alana Ease, Young Parent Education Program, tried her hand at stucco. Lee County’s Build My Future 2025 was held Thursday, October 23rd at JetBlue Park. The event provides invaluable career opportunities for local students by bringing together students, educators, industry professionals, and community partners within the construction field. The event has a shared goal of bridging the skilled workforce gap and sparking interest in construction careers.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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— WGCUBuild My Future102325AM
Markham Lancaster, Fort Myers High School, tried soldering for the first time. He wants to going into a trade after high school. “It’s just cool and there’s good money in it”, Lancaster said. Lee County’s Build My Future 2025 was held Thursday, October 23rd at JetBlue Park. The event provides invaluable career opportunities for local students by bringing together students, educators, industry professionals, and community partners within the construction field. The event has a shared goal of bridging the skilled workforce gap and sparking interest in construction careers.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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— WGCUBuild My Future102325AM
Lee County’s Build My Future 2025 was held Thursday, October 23rd at JetBlue Park. The event provides invaluable career opportunities for local students by bringing together students, educators, industry professionals, and community partners within the construction field. The event has a shared goal of bridging the skilled workforce gap and sparking interest in construction careers.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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— WGCUBuild My Future102325AM
Jose Marcos, South Fort Myers, tries soldering at one of the booths. Lee County’s Build My Future 2025 was held Thursday, October 23rd at JetBlue Park. The event provides invaluable career opportunities for local students by bringing together students, educators, industry professionals, and community partners within the construction field. The event has a shared goal of bridging the skilled workforce gap and sparking interest in construction careers.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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— WGCUBuild My Future102325AM
Lee County’s Build My Future 2025 was held Thursday, October 23rd at JetBlue Park. The event provides invaluable career opportunities for local students by bringing together students, educators, industry professionals, and community partners within the construction field. The event has a shared goal of bridging the skilled workforce gap and sparking interest in construction careers.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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— WGCUBuild My Future102325AM
Lee County’s Build My Future 2025 was held Thursday, October 23rd at JetBlue Park. The event provides invaluable career opportunities for local students by bringing together students, educators, industry professionals, and community partners within the construction field. The event has a shared goal of bridging the skilled workforce gap and sparking interest in construction careers.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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— WGCUBuild My Future102325AM
Lee County’s Build My Future 2025 was held Thursday, October 23rd at JetBlue Park. The event provides invaluable career opportunities for local students by bringing together students, educators, industry professionals, and community partners within the construction field. The event has a shared goal of bridging the skilled workforce gap and sparking interest in construction careers.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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— WGCUBuild My Future102325AM
Lee County’s Build My Future 2025 was held Thursday, October 23rd at JetBlue Park. The event provides invaluable career opportunities for local students by bringing together students, educators, industry professionals, and community partners within the construction field. The event has a shared goal of bridging the skilled workforce gap and sparking interest in construction careers.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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— WGCUBuild My Future102325AM
Lee County’s Build My Future 2025 was held Thursday, October 23rd at JetBlue Park. The event provides invaluable career opportunities for local students by bringing together students, educators, industry professionals, and community partners within the construction field. The event has a shared goal of bridging the skilled workforce gap and sparking interest in construction careers.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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— WGCUBuild My Future102325AM
Lee County’s Build My Future 2025 was held Thursday, October 23rd at JetBlue Park. The event provides invaluable career opportunities for local students by bringing together students, educators, industry professionals, and community partners within the construction field. The event has a shared goal of bridging the skilled workforce gap and sparking interest in construction careers.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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— WGCUBuild My Future102325AM
Lee County’s Build My Future 2025 was held Thursday, October 23rd at JetBlue Park. The event provides invaluable career opportunities for local students by bringing together students, educators, industry professionals, and community partners within the construction field. The event has a shared goal of bridging the skilled workforce gap and sparking interest in construction careers.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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— WGCUBuild My Future102325AM
Lee County’s Build My Future 2025 was held Thursday, October 23rd at JetBlue Park. The event provides invaluable career opportunities for local students by bringing together students, educators, industry professionals, and community partners within the construction field. The event has a shared goal of bridging the skilled workforce gap and sparking interest in construction careers.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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— WGCUBuild My Future102325AM
Lee County’s Build My Future 2025 was held Thursday, October 23rd at JetBlue Park. The event provides invaluable career opportunities for local students by bringing together students, educators, industry professionals, and community partners within the construction field. The event has a shared goal of bridging the skilled workforce gap and sparking interest in construction careers.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
17 of 17
— WGCUBuild My Future102325AM
Lee County’s Build My Future 2025 was held Thursday, October 23rd at JetBlue Park. The event provides invaluable career opportunities for local students by bringing together students, educators, industry professionals, and community partners within the construction field. The event has a shared goal of bridging the skilled workforce gap and sparking interest in construction careers.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
Those taking part worked side-by-side with industry professionals, explore hands-on exhibits, and got the chance to get valuable insight into careers in carpentry, masonry, electrical, plumbing, roofing, and other skilled trades.
For some of the students, it gives them an idea of just what is possible. For Riverdale's Even Brynt, he got a chance to look over multiple interests.
" I'm between plumbing, mechanics and electricity," he said.
Brynt said that having a hand-on opportunity helped.
"It helps me figure out, like, what I can do with the job once I'm actually doing it and studying it, because I'm planning going to technical college after high school and then going into the trades," he said. "So it helps a lot being here. I'm more interested in just the type of work. I don't really want to be in a desk job all day, and my dad was in it, and my dad's in it, so I'm just trying to follow after him."
Phillip Ford, Executive Vice President of Lee BIA, said the one-day event helps the students get their hands dirty.
"So they get to meet plumbers, electricians, carpenters, anybody that, everybody that's does anything to build houses or commercial buildings in Lee County," he said. "And it's just a way to introduce them to careers in construction. So we're hoping they're going to come and they're going to go, 'Hey, we want to be a plumber. I want to be a welder or whatever.' And they go back to school and take some of the great classes offered by the school district, and then they get a career. Post post graduation, they get a job."
In addition to interactive demonstrations, informational booths highlighted training programs, internships, apprenticeships, and post-graduation career pathways, helping students connect education to real-world opportunities.
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