Fall in Omaha means Thursday night football, packed school calendars, neighborhood festivals and plenty of opportunities to get out and connect with the community. It’s also one of the busiest seasons for Building Omaha.
Throughout autumn, Building Omaha has been showing up at local schools, football games and community events to connect with students and families and introduce more people to the opportunities available in the electrical trades.
Representing the electrical professionals who help build and power our city, Building Omaha is about the work happening on job sites and investing in the people who will shape Omaha’s future. That starts with creating opportunities for the next generation.
When the air turns crisp, thoughts turn to crowded bleachers at weekly football. But thanks to Thursday Night Lights (TNL), students, families, and community partners have another opportunity to come together around high school athletics.
Building Omaha was proud to be part of another successful Thursday Night Lights season in 2025, connecting with students and families at games throughout the season. While the excitement on the field brings everyone together, the event also creates an opportunity to talk about what comes next.
For Building Omaha, that means introducing students to careers in the electrical trades and showing them that there are rewarding options beyond the traditional four-year college path.
One of those options is an electrical apprenticeship. And for apprentice Anthony Hernandez, the decision to enter the trade was influenced by someone who knew the value of the work firsthand: his grandfather.
Anthony’s grandfather spent 40 years working in the union and loved both his career and the people he worked alongside. Seeing that experience helped inspire Anthony to follow a similar path.
“He just had a great life,” Anthony says. “I saw that and thought that was a great idea” for me.
Today, Anthony works as an inside wireman, taking on commercial and industrial electrical projects, including work on some of the large buildings and developments helping shape Omaha.
“Big projects, big buildings—that’s me,” he says.
His story is a great example of how a career in the trades can become a family tradition. It’s also a reminder that an apprenticeship can provide a direct path into meaningful work, with the opportunity to learn from experienced professionals while building skills that last a lifetime.
Building Omaha also used this year’s Thursday Night Lights season to celebrate student achievement. A $3,000 Scholar-Athlete of the Year scholarship will recognize one outstanding student for their accomplishments. Stay tuned as we prepare to announce this year’s winner!
Thursday Night Lights celebrates high school football. But, more importantly, it brings together education and curiosity, athletics and discipline, career opportunities and success—all the things that make our city great—in one place.
Meeting students at a football game is a great place to start. But what happens when a student wants to learn more about the electrical trade?
That’s where Building Omaha’s partnerships with local schools come in.
Through connections with Omaha Public Schools (OPS) and the OPS Career Center, Building Omaha helps introduce students to the skilled trades through hands-on learning and opportunities to experience electrical work for themselves.
The gap between hearing someone describe a career and getting the chance to try it is big. Hands-on experiences let students ask questions, explore their interests and begin to picture what a future in the electrical industry could look like.
For students considering their options after high school, an electrical apprenticeship offers another path forward.
Rather than spending years in a traditional classroom before entering the workforce, apprentices learn while working alongside experienced electrical professionals. Along the way, they:
It’s a path that combines education with real-world experience and gives students the opportunity to earn while they learn.
“I just enjoy really getting to learn new things every single day,” says apprentice Kianna Parmenter.
She has discovered that there are many career paths within the electrical field beyond high voltage. Telecommunications, for instance, includes fire alarm systems and work in data centers.
“You have a choice in the industry,” Kianna says.
For parents and educators, introducing students to these opportunities early can make a huge difference. Students can’t consider a career they don’t know exists. Giving them the chance to explore the trades helps broaden their understanding of what’s possible after graduation.
And for students, the takeaway is simple: There isn’t just one right way to build a successful future. Interested in working with your hands? Like solving problems? Want to be part of projects that make a difference in your community? The electrical trades offer opportunities worth exploring.
As another busy fall season comes to a close, Building Omaha wants to thank everyone who helped make these community connections possible.
From the apprentices, electrical contractors and union professionals who shared their experiences to the schools, students, families and community partners who participated, each played a part in introducing more young people to the opportunities available in the electrical industry.
But the work doesn’t stop when the football season ends.
Building Omaha, a partnership between IBEW Local 22 and NECA, brings together the people and resources needed to strengthen Omaha’s electrical workforce. That commitment extends beyond today’s projects into helping develop the next generation of skilled electrical professionals and making sure students have opportunities to explore careers that can support them for years to come.
Every school visit, hands-on learning experience and conversation with a student is another opportunity to build those connections.
There are more students to reach, more careers to build and plenty more Omaha to power. And Building Omaha looks forward to being part of it all.
Interested in exploring a career in the electrical trades? Learn more about electrical apprenticeship programs, career opportunities and upcoming community events at buildingomaha.org.
Building Omaha is a partnership between the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).
