Northwest Georgia’s Future Builders Will Compete in Rome at the 2026 Skills Challenge
More than 200 construction students are expected in Rome for a hands-on competition connecting high school talent with the people and companies shaping Georgia’s skilled-trades workforce.
ROME, Ga. Northwest Georgia’s next generation of builders, electricians, plumbers, welders and other skilled-trades workers will get a chance to put their abilities on display in Rome this fall.
The Associated General Contractors of Georgia will host the Northwest Georgia AGC Skills Challenge on Thursday, October 22, at The Forum River Center in downtown Rome.
AGC Georgia says more than 200 students are expected to compete, while several hundred additional students will attend as observers and interact with construction-industry professionals.
Nine competitions will put hands-on skills to the test
The Rome event is scheduled to feature competitions in blueprint reading, cabinetmaking, carpentry, electrical, masonry, metal studs and drywall, plumbing, TeamWorks and welding.
Students from construction programs in 14 Northwest Georgia counties are being given priority registration. The regional event is being organized by AGC Georgia in partnership with Duffey Southeast Construction and RaLin Construction.
Competition is scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon, followed by lunch and an awards presentation.
Rome is one stop in a statewide workforce-development series
The Northwest Georgia challenge is one of eight regional competitions AGC Georgia is holding across the state in 2026.
The organization expects the statewide series to involve a combined 2,300 students from more than 100 schools. Other regional competitions are scheduled in Gainesville, Perry, Columbus, Moultrie, Marietta, Statesboro and Augusta.
WRGA reported that the 2025 series drew more than 2,300 competitors and observers representing 108 schools, along with participation from nearly 350 industry firms.
Why the skilled-trades pipeline matters
The construction workforce is built long before a worker arrives on a commercial project or residential job site. Career and technical education programs give students a place to develop practical skills while they are still in high school.
Events like the Skills Challenge add another layer: students perform under competition conditions, meet employers and see how the skills they are learning connect to real work across Georgia.
For contractors, the same event provides an opportunity to meet young people who may become apprentices, technicians, crew leaders and future business owners.
The Georgia inside the story
Rome is not simply hosting a student competition. For one day, the city becomes a meeting point between Northwest Georgia’s classrooms and its construction economy.
Students will arrive representing communities across the region, work with the same kinds of tools and techniques used in the field, and perform in front of professionals who understand what those skills are worth.
The Georgia inside this story is the pipeline: the people who will build the state’s next homes, businesses and infrastructure are already learning their trades in Georgia high schools.