Carter Machinery Introduces High Schoolers to Construction

Baltimore-area high school teens learn trades as an alternative to college.

Sept. 18, 2025

5 min read

John Morris, safety training coordinator for Utility Lines Construction Services, ULCS, teaches Rifa Kabejean, 16, a Patterson High School sophomore, how to energize and de-energize a house. Kabejean is among 1,200 high school students exploring careers at Construction Career Day hosted by the Maryland Center for Construction Education & Innovation (MCCEI).

By: Racquel Bazos
Source: Baltimore Sun (TNS)

More than 1,100 Baltimore-area high schoolers filled the parking lot of M&T Bank Stadium on Wednesday, donning high-visibility T-shirts, grabbing safety glasses and filling the air with the clicking sounds of their tightening hard hats.

This day, they were going to learn the tricks of the trades.

Read today’s top news.

The students from 37 Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Harford County high schools were here to get demonstrations from local construction companies, unions and even some universities to learn about various forms of skilled labor from established professionals in the industry and, potentially, get inspired to chart careers for themselves.

While college is the goal for many high school graduates, it’s not for everyone. This program, dubbed “Construction Career Day,” aims to expose high schoolers to a variety of career paths — including construction, electrical work, and trucking — that offer the potential for good pay without requiring a college degree.

“For about 40-plus years in America, we have … said that everyone needs to go to college, and … the entire education system in America has only really prioritized college,” said Jennifer Dewees, president of the Maryland Center for Construction Education & Innovation, which put on the event. The construction industry founded the organization after the Great Recession “as a way to help diversify and educate young people and the general public about careers in the built environment,” Dewees said.

A similar event is scheduled in October to serve students in Frederick, Carroll, Montgomery and Washington counties.

Construction facing ‘major workforce shortage’

The industry realized then there would be a “major workforce shortage,” she said, which it is now in. By 2030, 40% of the construction workforce will have retired, Dewees said, while at the same time, only one person is entering the industry for every four leaving.

Nationwide, college enrollment peaked in 2010 and has declined since then, according to data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. In 2023, the latest year for which data was available, there were 15.82 million students enrolled, nearing 2020’s enrollment levels.

In Maryland, college enrollment has fallen 12% since 2012, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics.

The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future supports other career pathways outside of college. The state’s landmark education law sets the goal that 45% of high school graduates will complete an apprenticeship or attain an industry-recognized credential by 2030.

“For the first time in a very long time, schools have goals that say that they need to be exposing students to non-college-bound pathways,” Dewees said.

At the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 24’s booth, students tried bending half-inch conduit insulation into 90-degree angles, a task more challenging than it sounds, requiring students to leverage the conduit with their feet and a bending tool.

“It’s a starting point. It’s the simplest bend you can make,“ said organizer Derek Adolfo. This year, the union’s apprenticeship program broke records, he said, with about 250 first-year apprentices. Apprentices at all levels numbered around 500 to 600.

Clayton Hosier, 16, sometimes works with his father doing construction and HVAC. He put on thick rubber gloves up to his shoulders during a BGE demo, teaching students how technicians de-energize and replace transformers.

Hosier said the experience “takes some getting used to.”

Cedric Thompson, 17, of Edmondson-Westside High School, apprentices with Baltimore City’s school district’s repair shop, but also interned with BGE over the summer.

“I really want to get into … the workforce because … I feel like college will waste my time,” Thompson said. “I got a lot of opportunities without even going to college.”

An Indeed survey from this year found that over half of Gen Z with college degrees consider them a waste of money, a sharp contrast to the baby boomers surveyed. Only 20% of the older generation shared the same view.

Recent college grads, aged 22 to 27, are facing unemployment levels higher than the rest of the labor market: 4.8% in June versus 4% for all workers, according to the New York Federal Reserve.

“I don’t think AI can replace somebody who [builds] a house,” said Nayshawn Williams, 17, also of Edmondson-Westside. He plans to go to college for a career in construction management.

“I just like building stuff,” he said. “Paperwork is boring. Sitting behind a desk is boring.”

Their classmate, Keyry Pichinte, 18, won first place in a regional carpentry competition last year, but she plans to attend college.

“My mind is set on architecture, but it’s really nice being able to also work … in the construction field of it, not just the planning of it,” she said.

Carter Machinery brings simulator

Carter Machinery, a Caterpillar heavy machinery dealer, brought a simulator where students could experience driving a Caterpillar dozer or excavator. Ali Rodriguez, operator instructor, gave supportive feedback and instructions to 17-year-old Woodlawn High School senior Jonah Fisher as he piloted the simulated dozer.

“I thought it was pretty cool that you can just try this heavy machinery,” Fisher said. “It’s kind of like similar to driving… It could be an easy job with some easy money.”

Marianne Bishoff, regional HR manager for the company, said that Generation Z’s tech savvy could serve them well in the construction industry.

For those in the younger generation with a good work ethic and an interest in becoming a construction, diesel or power generation technician, “we have opportunities for them,” she said.

“Every time we’re out here, the kids show a lot of interest in plumbing,” said Kodi Brunner, general superintendent for Krick Plumbing & Heating Company. “It’s good to see… We need the younger generation to want to be in a trade.”

“They hear about … the money you can make and the advancements that you can do and eventually owning your own company, and that’s what they’re looking for. They’re looking to … have a decent future.”

“We need this younger generation in construction period,” Brunner said.