KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — It was quiet outside the Jacob Building late Thursday morning, but inside it was filled with the sounds of high school students hard at work. More than 200 East Tennessee high school students filled the building competing with their carpentry, plumbing, and electrical skills.
It's part of the annual Builders Exchange of Tennessee's Construction Trades competition. Buddy Heins, the president for the Builders Exchange of Tennessee, said around 244 students students competed from around 20 schools. They formed teams of nine to build a mock laundry room.
"There's three electricians, three plumbers, three carpenters, they're all building the same thing. They're getting judged on quality efficiency, cleanliness, safety and just how well they're building their projects," he said.
Some students competed before while others were new to the game. The goal of this year's competition was to build a mock laundry room. Charlie Hall, a junior at Greenback High School, competed in the competition. He said his father, a project manager, got him interested in construction.
"Just building walls and running electrical and plumbing through it. It's real fun. It's interesting, learned it for the first time," he said.
He said once he graduates high school, he will probably enter trade school after he joins the National Guard.
Heins said the construction trade industry is growing, so there is not expected to be a shortage of jobs. He said there needs to be more interest in taking over these roles.
"People are moving here in droves. The towns are growing, the university is growing. So we need construction professionals at all levels and all trades, all skill levels, everything. And we're trying to promote them all. A lot of our folks in our industry, the skilled craftsmen are retiring and we're losing more than we're getting. You know, the attrition rate is tough and we are trying to do everything we can to combat that," said Heins.
He also said the trades can offer an alternative for students who don't want to go to college.
"A lot of people don't wanna go to college. They're not ready for college. College is expensive. And some of them wanna go to work — they're ready to go to work, they wanna work with their hands, they wanna build things. It's a great profession," said Heins. "A skilled craftsman can make a good living. There's a lot of demand. There's a lot of stability, you know, organizations need good people. They have good benefits."
Heins said students won prizes like tools and construction equipment, but he said the best prize of all is knowledge and experience.