Local students attend Winter Trades Day for welding, automotive, construction, manufacturing

Local high-school students gathered in Lewis and Clark County on Feb. 24 for Winter Trades Day, a one-day program that delivered hands-on demonstrations and short workshops in welding, automotive technology, construction trades and manufacturing skills. The event targeted career pathways that county school leaders and employers have flagged as in-demand.

Participants moved through station-based demonstrations and short classroom-style workshops focused on practical skills in welding, automotive diagnostics, basic construction techniques and manufacturing processes. Organizers emphasized tangible exposure to tools and equipment rather than a lecture format, and the program’s schedule concentrated activities into single-session rotations so students could sample multiple trades in one day.

The Winter Trades Day on Feb. 24 was organized by regional workforce partners working with local schools to connect high-school students to postsecondary training routes and employer needs. The program explicitly framed the workshops as career-pathway exploration for juniors and seniors considering trade certificates, apprenticeships or technical college programs rather than four-year degrees.

School counselors and career-technical educators coordinated student schedules so participants from multiple Lewis and Clark County high schools could attend without disrupting core academic classes. The short-workshop format allowed dozens of students to circulate through welding booths, automotive technology stations and construction-crew demonstrations within a standard school day, increasing access for students who lack after-school availability.

Beyond individual skill exposure, Winter Trades Day functioned as a pipeline exercise: it linked hands-on demonstrations to local workforce development priorities by showing students specific trades where local employers report hiring needs. By giving students the chance to try welding torches, diagnostic tools and construction tasks, the program aimed to reduce uncertainty about next steps after graduation and to steer more young people toward technical training options.

Organizers said the event was part of broader late-February efforts to align secondary education with regional labor demand and to present alternative career pathways for Lewis and Clark County youth. The single-day format on Feb. 24 offered a concentrated introduction to trades that school leaders can build on through follow-up career-technical education, apprenticeships and partnerships with local training providers.