The National Center for Construction Education and Research last week announced that the fifth annual Careers in Construction Week will take place Oct. 12-16.

Careers in Construction Week is designed to increase public awareness of the hard work and contributions of craft professionals. In addition, this week promotes recognition among parents, teachers, guidance counselors, and students of the rewarding career opportunities available in construction.

“2008 was a success,” said Don Whyte, NCCER president. “Several governors proclaimed Careers in Construction Week in their state and the week received recognition from the White House. We encourage contractors and schools to use this week to honor our craft professionals and recognize construction as a rewarding career.”

The NCCER 2008 Build Your Future career awareness video is available on NCCER’s YouTube site. This video is distributed free of charge and features interviews from craft professionals who are already experiencing a rewarding construction career. Contractors, schools, and industry associations throughout the country will conduct career fairs and various construction-related activities to help promote construction career opportunities in their communities. All organizations planning an event during this week should submit their event online at careers.nccer.org.

NCCER provides an array of promotional materials to assist organizations in planning a successful week. Materials include a comprehensive Careers in Construction Week Planning Guide that is equipped with sample press releases, logos, proclamation templates, and suggested week activities. All materials are available for download from the NCCER Careers website at careers.nccer.org. The Build Your Future YouTube video is available at www.youtube.com/user/nccerweb.

Headquartered in Gainesville, Fla., 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. For more information visit www.nccer.org.