Founded in 1999, in the face of a growing need for qualified construction workers, Construction Career Days (CCD) has served as a national educational outreach program designed to introduce students to the wide range of career opportunities available to them in the construction and engineering industries.

Providing a hands-on environment that can’t be replicated in a classroom, the event takes place in almost all 50 states and through partnerships with significant industry sponsors, including the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration, CCD has left an impact on thousands of future engineers throughout its two decades existence.

WGI’s Kaitlyn Sanson was a participating student in a CCD event in its 3^rd year and has now come full circle as an Engineer Intern event volunteer!

“I attended Construction Career Days as a high school student in 2016. My class was made up of all juniors and seniors, just starting to seriously think about our future careers. As a high school student, it was hard committing to a career because there was no way to know what that career would actually look like day to day. That’s why I am so glad we had the opportunity to go to Construction Career Day, it let me visualize my future and made me excited about the construction/engineering field. One of the labs I was most interested in was a bridge designing lab, 7 years later I am now a Structural Engineer at WGI specializing in bridge design!”

The three-day event hosted over 2,600 students from across FDOT’s District 2, which includes 58 schools and 18 counties in Northeast Florida.

WGI’s chaperones for the event helped guide different student groups through the learning labs and career exhibits that were on display. David John worked tirelessly as WGI’s sole representative on the CCD Committee, which works to put on successful  CCD events year in and year out.

This year, WGI participated in Northeast Florida’s 10th annual CCD. Some of our awesome associates volunteered their time to provide students with engaging construction and engineering activities such as the ever-popular bucket trucks!

Contractors brought in heavy machinery and equipment for students to see what it’s like behind the wheel while moving cones and dirt with the use of excavators!

Other examples of “Learning Labs” that were present at the event were stations where students could experiment with transportation materials by making “Asphalt Cookies,” take a stab at welding & rebar tying, or even enjoy bridge exhibits that the attendees could actually walk across!

WGI is adamant about investing in the future generation of engineers and strives to make a positive impact on them because they will ultimately do the same for our communities and generations to come in the future.

Be The Change You Seek!

Do you need a change? Are you interested in helping inspire and educate future engineers? Then check out our careers page to see what new opportunities await you here at WGI!