If the 1,800 young people who visited Cobo Center on May 24 wanted to learn about a career in construction, they went to the right place.

The Detroit Construction Careers Expo brought together representatives from all the building trades and numerous contractor associations to sell the industry as a career choice. The day-long event, which hosted young people who were bussed in from all over the City of Detroit, was sponsored by the Detroit Human Rights Department, the Great Lakes Construction Alliance and Management and Unions Serving Together.

Reginia Simmons, director of the City of Detroit's Human Rights Department, said the expo "represents our ongoing commitment to workforce development and to the employment of Detroit's residents. This event is bound to empower teens and their families with information that could transform their lives."

The event included hands-on demonstrations by the iron workers and bricklayers, as well as descriptions of opportunities in project management, marketing, engineering and architectural design.

Reflecting how much of a tough sell the industry is to young people, Michael Thomas, 20, said construction isn't at the top of his list for job opportunities, but he's keeping an open mind. "I'm interested, and I'll take a look around," he said. "I watched them put up that stadium (Comerica Park) and that was really nice. I liked that."

AT THE DETROIT Construction Careers Expo were (l-r) Reginia Simmons, director of the City of Detroit's Human Rights Department, prospective construction worker Michael Thomas, Don O'Connell of MUST and the Great Lakes Construction Alliance, and Patrick Devlin, secretary-treasurer of the Greater Detroit Building Trades Council.