AGC showcases the Be Pro Be Proud truck before federal officials to help show one of the many ways the industry is proactively working to attract the next generation to construction careers.

An AGC-supported exhibit, Be Pro Be Proud, was front and center in Washington, DC the week of May 15 as part of a larger event, Celebration of Construction on the National Mall. The massive 18-wheeler is a custom-built mobile workshop offering hands-on experiences—including state-of-the-art construction equipment and educational, interactive exhibits—with skilled professions for young students. Six states have their own Be Pro Be Proud trucks to date that help change the perceptions of technical careers to address the skilled labor shortage.

Influential policymakers in Congress and the Biden Administration participated in the interactive exhibit, trying their hands at virtual reality simulators, just like the thousands of young students that have visited the truck in the participating states. Visitors over the three days included Doug Parker, Assistant Secretary of Labor of Occupational Safety and Health at the US Department of Labor, Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Chairwoman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and Congressman French Hill (R-AR) among others.