According to Mike Rowe, host of the Discovery Channel’s “Dirty Jobs,” the all-important STEM should actually have one more letter at the end. Rowe said instead of STEM, it should be STEMS with the final “S” standing for “skills.” Turner Industries and NCCER employees recently set out to showcase this statement made by Rowe, and their mission was to demonstrate the great job opportunities for skilled crafts within the construction industry.
Turner Industries and NCCER participated in Rowe’s pavilion at the USA Science & Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C. The mission of the USA Science & Engineering Festival is to reinvigorate the interest of our nation’s youth in STEM. Between 350,000-400,000 people visited the festival to participate in the interactive activities at 3,000 different booths. Rowe was invited by the festival to host his own pavilion with the purpose of bringing attention to the need for skilled craft workers.
“Without skilled workers, everything conceived and invented by the scientists, engineers and mathematicians would only be prototypes,” Rowe said. “Skilled craft workers are needed to build the end products.”
Turner Industries chose to partner with NCCER to highlight the “Build Your Future” curriculum for craft certification and education. At the Turner Industries/NCCER booth, children signed their names to LEGO® bricks and added them to a structure that was a work in progress over the three-day festival. The children learned Turner Industries employs skilled craft workers who build facilities that produce products people use every day. They also learned what those jobs pay and how to get craft training.
Rowe visited the Turner Industries/NCCER booth several times, signing a ceremonial LEGO diamond that was placed in the structure, which grabbed everyone’s attention. Nearly 4,000 children and their parents visited the Turner/NCCER booth, signed a brick and learned about skilled craft careers.
At the end of the festival, the LEGO structure was dismantled, sent back to Turner Industries’ office in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and rebuilt into a permanent tower incorporating Rowe’s signature piece. The tower is now traveling around the country, visiting different industry-related events to highlight the value and need for skilled crafts. It has already traveled to the SkillsUSA Championships in Kansas City, Missouri, the Construction Industry Institute Annual Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the grand opening of the River Parishes Community College in Gonzales, Louisiana.
The tower’s travels are documented at www.followmybrick.com. Next spring, the tower will be sent to the mikeroweWORKS Foundation and auctioned off to raise proceeds for skilled craft scholarships. The mikeroweWORKS Foundation awards these scholarships to men and women who have demonstrated an interest and an aptitude for mastering a specific trade. The 501(c)(3) non-profit organization has given more than $2.5 million in scholarships to craft training schools around the country.
For more information, visit www.followmybrick.com or call (225) 214-2472.
