October is Careers in Construction Month

ALACHUA, Fla., Sept. 14, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NCCER and its Build Your Future (BYF) initiative are once again declaring October as Careers in Construction Month. Throughout the month, industry and education partner locally to host career events that introduce students to rewarding construction careers.

This year, governors in Nevada, Utah, Nebraska, Texas, Indiana, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi have all proclaimed Careers in Construction Month in their states. It is not too late for other states to do the same. Any state resident can file a proclamation for his or her governor to sign. To simplify the process, BYF offers proclamation guidelines for each state and a sample proclamation at www.byf.org.

BYF also provides a number of online resources at www.byf.org to make it easy for organizations to host career day events during Careers in Construction Month, such as a career day guide, field manual and helpful hints. Organizations can also register their events at www.byf.org/register for added publicity.

In celebration of Careers in Construction Month, NCCER and BYF have teamed up to create the "I BUILT THIS" video contest, giving aspiring craft professionals and their instructors an opportunity to showcase their construction projects. The contest is open through Oct. 18 to students and instructors in secondary and postsecondary career and technical education programs. In the videos, contestants will describe their projects, share their favorite construction careers and explain what they enjoy most about the industry. First place winners will receive GoPro HERO cameras and second place winners will receive Google Chromecast streaming devices. For official rules or to submit a video, visit www.nccer.org/I-BUILT-THIS.

With a projected shortage of 1.5 million craft professionals by 2019, now is the time to promote construction careers in each state. Recognizing October as Careers in Construction Month can generate added publicity for the construction industry and help promote career opportunities.  

To learn more, visit www.byf.org. For the latest news and updates on career events visit www.facebook.com/BYFcampaign and follow www.twitter.com/buildyourfuture.

About NCCER — NCCER is a not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) education foundation created by the construction industry to develop standardized curriculum with portable credentials and to help address the skilled construction workforce shortage. NCCER is recognized by the industry as the training, assessment, certification and career development standard for the construction and maintenance craft professional. For more information, visit www.nccer.org or contact NCCER customer service at 888.622.3720.

About Build Your Future – Build Your Future (BYF) is NCCER's national image enhancement and recruitment initiative for the construction industry. Its mission is to recruit the next generation of craft professionals by making career and technical education a priority in secondary schools, shifting negative public perception about careers in the construction industry and providing a path from ambition, to training, to job placement as a craft professional. BYF provides a number of resources to assist industry, education and military organizations in achieving these goals. For more information, visit www.byf.org.

A photo accompanying this release is available at: http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=36014