Western Piedmont Community College Seeks Construction Rodeo Sponsorships
Western Piedmont Community College (WPCC) is seeking business sponsors for a fun event designed to inspire high school students to pursue careers in skilled trades.
The annual Construction Rodeo, held in March at the Regional Skilled Trades Solutions Center at WPCC, hosts high school students from around the region, who compete in various construction skill drills for a chance to win prizes. Prizes include tools and related equipment donated by local businesses affiliated with skilled trades.
“The Construction Rodeo gives students a taste of what’s coming up in the construction trades,” WPCC Construction Trades Instructor Eric Hurley said. “We get them through the Rodeo, and they get a taste of every little thing, then they can look forward into their futures to see what they really want to do.”
Construction Rodeo was designed to address the alarming shortage of skilled trades workers in the area. Randy Burns came up with the idea in 2018, when he served as chair of the Burke County Board of Education.
“We were struggling with enrollment in our construction programs, to the point that we were considering, ‘Do we still do this,’” Burns said. “Basically, 10-12% of our kids at that time were going to a four-year university and 20-30% would eventually end up at a community college, which left a balance of those that nobody really knew about. I’ve always been about those kids who are in that 60% who aren’t college-bound.”
Hurley stressed how critical the need for skilled trades workers has become.
“People are retiring, and we are not filling those spots in,” Hurley said. “Last year, there were six licensed plumbers (in Burke County) who either retired or passed away, and we only had one get his license. If we don’t (fill those jobs), our infrastructure is going to fall through. Each business owner out there has a building or a house that must be maintained. If they don’t know how to do it, they’re going to have to call construction trades to come and fix it. If we don’t get the students involved with that, we’re not going to have anybody around who’s qualified to do it.”
Burke County Public Schools hosted the first Construction Rodeo in 2018 with students from its four high schools. Burns invited the Building Construction Technology Program at WPCC to help with the event. Wall Lumber and Lowe’s Hardware were early sponsors.
“They got tools and tool belts set up on the counters at their respective businesses, and a $50 donation by a contractor would get a tool belt and a set of tools for one of the students who participated,” Burns said. “Our partners at Wall Lumber and Lowe’s were very instrumental in getting vendors to come in and help run some of the competitions.”
Enrollment in skilled trades classes at BCPS nearly doubled after the event.
“I think there were four out of that first year from our high schools who walked away that day with a summer job,” Burns said. “It really generated a lot of interest in those programs.”
The next year, the college took over the competition and invited high schools from five counties to send 10 participants each.
“I wanted the instructors to pick their top 10 interested students in the trades to bring,” Burns said. “I think our contractors and industry folks would prefer we focus on kids they have a shot at employing.”
The event was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID and wasn’t held again until 2022. In addition to local businesses donating prizes, the Western Piedmont Foundation awards a $500 scholarship to the top-scoring student.
“Almost every student walks away with something,” WPCC Dean of Applied Technologies Michael Daniels said. “Typically, every student who participates gets a really nice tool belt, a hammer, a scale and a custom T-shirt we design for the event. We stress that every student is a winner just for showing up, because we want to encourage them to stay in this field.”
Sponsors set up tables at the competition and interact with the students.
“I believe that at every one of these events we’ve ever had, a student was either hired on the spot, or that meeting led directly to them being hired in some kind of trades capacity,” Daniels said. “I think it elevates their feeling about the trades. That’s huge.”
Some Construction Rodeo participants have enrolled in the building construction program at the college.
“We’ve gone from four or five students five or six years ago to right around 50 students now,” Daniels said. “We’ve made huge strides, and I think this (the Rodeo) has been a part of that. We have room for more, and industry needs more.”
He encouraged skilled trades related businesses to consider sponsoring next year’s Construction Rodeo to support and inspire the next generation of tradespeople. “I have tried to convey to our partners that they have to get in the game,” Daniels said. “We’re going to have 100 students – local young people – interested in this field already. If they (business owners) become a sponsor and a participant in the event, they’re going to get right in front of these students. What better time to make connections with those people for potential employees?”
The next Construction Rodeo competition will take place Wednesday, March 19, 2025. Sponsorship pledges are due by Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. For more information on sponsoring Construction Rodeo, contact the Western Piedmont Foundation at 828-448-6156.
INFOBOX: Sponsorship opportunities:
Master Builder – $2,300: Premier event sponsor, featured on all event materials, including promotional items
Project Leader – $1,000: Listed on all event materials
Skilled Artisan – $500: Listed on promotional items, press release and webpage
Apprenticeship – $250: Listed on press release and PowerPoint presentation
Helper – $100: Listed on PowerPoint presentation