High school students from the Marquette area get hands-on experience operating some heavy machinery Wednesday as part of a six-week summer camp program, that gives vital experience in the trades for the students. (Journal photo by Randy Crouch)

By RANDY CROUCH

Journal Staff Writer

MARQUETTE — A group of Marquette-area high school students are spending part of their summer vacation getting a hands-on introduction to the world of construction.

The 29 students are currently taking part in a six-week summer camp sponsored by the Upper Peninsula Construction Council that gives the high school students training to help them get a taste of what it is like to work in construction or other trades, while providing training to give them a leg up when entering the workforce.

Wednesday’s portion of the summer camp was held at the Negaunee Carpenters & Millwrights Training Center along U.S. 41, with several students operating heavy machinery, including cranes.

Mike Smith, executive director of the U.P. Construction Council, said that the program not only provides valuable experience for the students but also provides them with options for the future.

“We’re just trying to expose students to different opportunites, different pathways to success,” Smith said. “There’s no wrong pathway after high school. If you want to go to college, cool. If you want to become an apprentice, awesome. Whatever they want to do, were going to help them be successful.”

Smith said that the summer camp will give the students experience in many types of trades.

“Every week, a different trade comes, so the students are being exposed to all of the trades so they can get a handle on what they enjoy the most,” Smith said.

Many of the students participating in the summer camp are around 14 or 15 years old, which Smith says is a great age to get them interested in these types of careers.

“Most of them haven’t had a lot of CTE (career and technical education) experience,” Smith said. “We really want to get those young kids interested, so they do take those classes in high school. There is a robust opportunity because there is a new interest in the state of Michigan to really make it worthwhile to have students engaged in these programs.”

The UPCC partnered with U.P. Michigan Works! and the Marquette-Alger Regional Educational Service Agency.

Randy Crouch can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 542. His email address is rcrouch@miningjournal.net