By OLIVIA BERGMEIER
Salina Post
Large production companies comprise a significant portion of Salina's workforce, so the Salina Area Builders Association, or SABA, plans to showcase those diverse careers in a new way.
SABA plans to bring the job site to younger generations through the Salina Build My Future event next Tuesday, April 16, at Tony's Pizza Events Center.
Jessica Kindlesparger, a SABA board member, heard about Build My Future events across the United States while attending a National Association of Home Builders meeting in Las Vegas, Nev.
"It intrigued me, and I did my research and immediately it was like, we have to bring this to Salina," Kindlesparger said. "This is amazing."
The booths will be exclusively hands-on exhibits for the junior and senior high school students, and business representatives will walk them through laying tile or hammering together housing frames.
Build My Future events began with 900 students in 2015 in Springfield, Mo., and has only grown each year since.
Kindlesparger and her husband own and operate Kindlesparger Construction, and in recent years, have noticed a decline in interested workers and their knowledge of the trades.
"This gives them a hands-on so we can show them," Kindlesparger said. "They can read about it, they can get online and research, but to actually get in and lay tile or wire an outlet."
"This gives them an opportunity to get some initial interests at least and go, 'Oh hey, I kind of like doing that,' or 'I might really like welding.'"
The event will feature local businesses like Great Plains Manufacturing and Vortex, providing diverse exhibits in their company's trade.
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