The University of Notre Dame, in partnership with the Michiana Area Construction Industry Advancement Fund, St. Joseph Valley Building Trades, South Bend Regional Chamber of Commerce and Greater Niles Chamber of Commerce, hosted Building Trades Day on Friday (March 7) at Stepan Center on campus.

First held in 2023, Building Trades Day offers area high school students the opportunity to explore career pathways in the trades through conversations and hands-on activities with contractors and tradespeople and tours of active construction sites.

Nearly 1,100 students participated in the daylong event, along with nearly 80 local contractors, trades organizations and training partners, including Amazon Web Services, Ivy Tech Community College, Habitat for Humanity of St. Joseph County and Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union 172, among others.

Led by the Facilities Design and Operations team within the Office of the Executive Vice President, the students toured three active construction sites on campus in various stages of completion: the Jack and Kathy Shields Family Hall (the new football facility), the Southeast Campus Geothermal Plant and the two new residence halls on the southwest side of campus.

The construction industry has been hampered by a labor shortage, with the supply of new tradespeople failing to keep up with demand — particularly in the wake of new federal investments in infrastructure and technology.

In response to this, Building Trades Day seeks to elevate the public perception of the trades and the valuable role tradespeople and the construction industry play in the economic growth of the region, state and country.

Anthony Polotto is the senior director of construction and quality assurance at Notre Dame.

“I’m really happy about the turnout,” Polotto said. “Essentially, what we have is our entire contracting industry is here today. A lot of hands-on activities. Let students install some stuff; install some slate and copper, weld some pipe, do some virtual reality to let people know what construction is really like in this day and age.”

Adriel Younger participated in the event from Niles High School, where he is part of the school’s career and technical education program. A senior, he is working on his welding certification with a career in the trades in mind.

“It’s a really good event,” Younger said. “It’s helpful for students to further expand their knowledge on what the (trades) actually have to offer them, and what kinds of jobs they can do.”

He said he would recommend the event to others his age.

“If you get this opportunity, definitely take advantage of it,” he said. “It will definitely help you in the long run.”

Contact: Erin Blasko, associate director of media relations, 574-631-4127, eblasko@nd.edu