More than 100 students from Cincinnati Public Schools and Winton Woods City School District spent Friday, October 23, trying their hand at the skilled trades inside TQL Stadium. Hillman Solutions Corp. partnered with FC Cincinnati to host the second annual Trade School Discovery Day, a hands-on career exploration event connecting students with local industry professionals.
Throughout the day, students rotated through interactive sessions and demonstrations led by skilled-trade professionals and community partners. Sessions covered construction with The Hillman Group, DWK Construction and 50 Grit Flooring; roofing and restoration with American Home Tech; automotive with the Jeff Wyler Automotive Family; and culinary work with Levy, FC Cincinnati’s food partner.
The event comes as the Cincinnati region’s construction industry keeps growing while struggling to fill jobs. According to the Associated General Contractors of America, construction employment in the Cincinnati metro area grew by 11 percent between June 2024 and June 2025, adding 5,800 jobs and bringing total construction employment to approximately 60,000 workers.
Even with that growth, the Workforce Council of Southwest Ohio reported in June 2026 that the local construction industry continues to face a persistent gap between demand for workers and the number of people entering and remaining in these careers. The council identified limited access to hands-on learning and unclear pathways from school to employment among the challenges affecting the region’s talent pipeline.
Trade School Discovery Day is built to address exactly those gaps. By putting tools in students’ hands inside a major-league stadium and letting them learn directly from people working in the trades, organizers aim to show students a concrete route from school into well-paying careers that do not require a four-year degree.
Hillman, a leading provider of hardware and related products based in the Cincinnati area, returned as the event’s corporate partner for the second year. FC Cincinnati’s TQL Stadium, the club’s home in the West End, provided the setting, with club and Levy staff among the professionals students met during the day.
For the students from Cincinnati Public Schools and Winton Woods, the day offered a look at career paths — construction, roofing, automotive and culinary — that local employers say they are hiring for now. Organizers said the goal is for students to leave with a clearer picture of what trade careers involve and how to enter them after graduation.
The second annual event builds on last year’s first edition. With regional construction employment at roughly 60,000 and employers still reporting open positions, both partners say introducing students to the trades early is part of closing Southwest Ohio’s workforce gap.