Clark Partners with Montgomery County Public Schools to Introduce High Schoolers to Career Opportunities in the Skilled Trades

On May 2, 2025, Clark Construction hosted its Skilled Trades Day of Exploration event for high school students in Montgomery County, MD, to provide hands-on exposure to careers in construction. Working in partnership with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), Montgomery College, WorkSource Montgomery, and a dozen local trade contractors and vendors, the company welcomed more than 160 MCPS students and educators from across the county, encouraging them to explore a variety of in-demand career paths within the industry. Part of Clark’s broader Crafting Futures initiative, this first-ever Skilled Trades Day was another important step toward inspiring young people to build a future in construction and addressing the growing demand for skilled talent.

During the event, students from 20 different schools gathered at Montgomery College’s Germantown Campus, to connect with trade partners across a host of disciplines. Participants rotated through activity stations, engaging with building professionals and participating in interactive exercises designed to educate and expose them to the variety of rewarding career paths in the skilled trades. Brick laying, constructing concrete form-work, traversing a steel i-beam, and building a tool box out of sheet metal, were among the many hands-on activities students encountered throughout the day. Through the event’s hands-on approach, students were able to forge a deeper understanding of trade opportunities, while also learning about the tangible steps they can take to kick-start their construction career.

Building on Clark’s Crafting Futures event for high school educators, the Skilled Trades Day of Exploration shifts the conversation to students to ensure that future generations understand how to make a fulfilling career within the industry a reality.

Participating trade partners included:

American Iron Works
C3M Power Systems
Calvert Masonry
Clark Concrete
Clark Equipment Group
Clark Logistics
Clark Water
Merit Commercial Windows
Milwaukee Tool
Sales Solutions
Shapiro & Duncan
W.E. Bowers