The Construction Industry Council does not believe enough young people know this worthwhile opportunity exists. The organization is out to change that. The Tarrytown-based CIC is a professional trade organization representing more than 600 businesses that are at the core of the region’s construction industry. These include contractors, suppliers, consultants and other professionals servicing the construction and building industries.

“This campaign is about changing the way people think about a career in construction. These are not just jobs, they are opportunities to learn a skilled trade, earn a good living, build a career, and build something that will last. Through apprenticeship and hands-on training, people can enter the industry with a pathway to long-term success, while earning benefits and preparing for a secure future.” said John T. Cooney Jr., Executive Director, Construction Industry Council of Westchester & Hudson Valley.

The challenge facing the industry now and going forward is not a shortage of work. Across the Hudson Valley, demand continues to build infrastructure, housing, healthcare, and institutional construction. The challenge is who will do it. A generation of experienced tradespeople is moving toward retirement while the generation of young adults has been routed, almost by default, toward four-year college.

Mr. Cooney explained “The Hudson Valley is growing, and we need a skilled workforce ready to build the roads, bridges, buildings, and infrastructure that our communities depend on. At the same time, there are young people, career changers and motivated individuals looking for a meaningful path forward. The construction industry offers a proven pathway to a rewarding career; one where you can learn a skilled trade, earn while you learn, receive excellent benefits and build a future you can be proud of. We want people to know that these opportunities are here, and that a career in the trades can truly change the direction of their lives.”

The CIC’s campaign is built on the premise that this is an awareness problem more than an interest problem. When young adults see the wide range of jobs, the competitive wages and the career path laid end-to-end, the organization believes many students and young adults will consider the union trades a very attractive option.

Meeting a Young Audience Via Multiple Outlets – roughly 85% to 90% of the campaign’s investment is directed toward linear TV, OTT (Over the Top media) and YouTube, and paid social— the channels best suited to reaching young adults not yet connected to the construction trades in any way, CIC officials explained.

Someone who has never considered a career in construction is not searching for one, so reaching that person requires channels of discovery rather than channels of response. Video provides the medium to show the scale of the projects, the skilled crafts involved, and the crews on site, while out-of-home media places the message along the commuter routes where the work is already visible. Paid social delivers it to the phones where this audience makes most of its decisions. Beneath that foundation sits geo-targeted search, positioned to capture the demand the campaign creates. The campaign will be in English and with Spanish subtitles.

Timed to the Moments That Matter – the locally-focused media buy will be higher around the two moments when career decisions tend to be made: fall career-days season and spring apprenticeship enrollment in the communities CIC members build in every day. The message will be focused on local careers, delivered through local outlets, about projects neighbors can drive past and recognize.

Speaking to the Pipeline’s Gatekeepers – a smaller but essential share of the campaign will speak directly to contractors, union members and apprenticeship programs. No amount of awareness among job seekers matters if the pipeline they enter is not ready to receive them. This aspect of the marketing program reinforces the CIC’s credibility with the trade audience and keeps referrals and applications moving efficiently toward apprenticeship and entry-level openings across the region.

The Case for Union, on Both Sides – the campaign carries two arguments at once. To prospective tradespeople, it makes the case for structured union apprenticeship: earning while learning, wages and benefits negotiated rather than improvised, rigorous safety training, and a credential that holds its value anywhere in the industry.

For owners, developers and municipalities, the campaign makes the parallel case for hiring union contractors—a trained and certified workforce, predictable schedules and a safety and quality record that protects a project’s budget as reliably as it protects the people on site. A pipeline into the trades only works if there is sustained demand at the other end, CIC officials stressed.

Building What Comes Next – when the campaign concludes in 2027, its success will be measured in more than impressions—in applications submitted to apprenticeship programs, in calls placed to member contractors, and in the number of young adults who now count construction among the careers genuinely available to them. The Construction Industry Council has spent decades representing the contractors who build in this region. This campaign is about building the workforce that will carry that work forward for the next generation of workers and their families who make the Hudson Valley their home.