Henniker Directional Drilling has found an easy way to introduce the underground utility construction business to the next generation of possible drill operators.
The company, based in Henniker, New Hampshire, became involved in the New Hampshire Construction Career Day hosted in New Boston over the last several years. New Hampshire Construction Career Days (NHCCD) is a nonprofit organization that brings students together with the construction and transportation industries to explore career options through hands-on activities.
"It’s a fantastic program,” says Jeff Martin, president and co-owner of Henniker. “We got involved when one of the general contractors that we do a lot of work for called and asked if we would get involved in it. He’s the type of guy where if he calls and asks for something, you say yes.”
Labor unions, construction companies, school districts, state agencies, trade and professional organizations collaborate with NHCCD to introduce the students to various aspects of construction.
The inaugural 2009 Construction Career Days attracted nearly 400 students from 22 schools for a one-day event. Each year the event has grown, and now the two-day event reaches nearly 1,000 students from over 40 schools.
“It’s a huge show,” Martin says. “Busloads of kids come in to look at the equipment, and they have some of it set up so the kids can operate it. They have a whole field set up of excavators and skid steers, all that the kids can jump in and operate.”
The event showcases heavy equipment, welding, small tools, plumbing, electrical wiring, surveying, wastewater management, bridge construction, land clearing, underground utilities and other construction-related jobs.
“It is to try and get the kids interested in this industry because there are very few of them coming into the construction trades,” Martin says. “This gives them a peek into what is out there.”
