Yuma’s first career and trades experience

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - The Yuma Southwest Contractors Association (YCSA) is hosting its first career and trades experience.

The event will be held at the Yuma County Fairgrounds on April 29 for students and April 30 for the public from 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

YSCA says in 10 years, 20% of their current workforce is eligible for retirement, so they created this event to draw in the next generation of job seekers.

The president of the YSCA association, Stacy Greene-Todd, says they need people to be filling the gaps in labor, especially in Yuma.

“We sat around our board table thinking of whose gonna replace us. There is a huge labor deficit right now in the world as well as greatly in our community,” said Greene-Todd.

John Kovesdy, project manager at McCarthy Building Companies and the treasure of the YCSA, says college isn’t for everyone and that’s okay.

“Just because you don’t go to a university, doesn’t mean that you can’t make a viable career or steady income for yourself. We need the trades. We need trades to put up buildings like this, we need trades to work on our homes, we need trades to cook our food and it is important that we are promoting those career paths,” said Kovesdy.

If you end up choosing a trade as a career, it pays well even without a degree.

“Everything starts out as an entry level and then depending on if you decide to do any further education or just to really become skilled in your trade, you can make a six figure career out of what we do and it’s a lot of fun because if we didn’t have fun, we wouldn’t be doing it,” said Greene-Todd.

While attending the event, you can explore careers in construction, engineering, culinary, and healthcare just to name a few.

Come out and test your skills and gain experience in these trades to see if you will be a part of the next generation of these industries in our area.