Woonsocket Students to Gain Hands-on Experience

There are some things that you just can’t learn in a classroom. When it comes to the construction trades, there is no substitute for operating equipment, working with tools and speaking with industry professionals.

Students from the will have such an opportunity on April 27 at the Rhode Island Construction Career Days (RICCD) event in East Greenwich.

“This is always a high point of the school year for my students,” said teacher Charles Myers. “Crane operators, tree services, heavy equipment and engineering are not things I can provide hands-on experiences with.” 

Myers will bring 30 students to the event. Approximately 1,000 students from more than 50 technical and high schools throughout the state are expected to attend the two-day event, which will be held from 8:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. at the Rhode Island Department of Transportation’s midstate maintenance facility on Wednesday and Thursday. 

This is the eleventh consecutive year for the event, which is run by the University of Rhode Island Transportation Center and funded by RIDOT and the Federal Highway Administration. 

Myers prefers to bring his younger students every year. 

“I only bring first-year students, because this allows them to explore careers that I can’t get them access to,” explained Myers. 

Additional sponsors of RICCD include Construction Industries of Rhode Island, New England Laborers Tri Funds, Beacon Mutual Insurance Company, Rhode Island Public Works Association, Rhode Island Builders Association, Rhode Island Technology Transfer Center and the NorthEast Technicians Training Certification Program.