Forget the current economic downturn, if you can, for a moment: The economy will turn around, and when it does, skilled craft workers will be in demand - big demand.

In fact, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries is predicting that the construction industry will grow by more than 14 percent over the next decade.

In all, the bureau estimates, another 30,000 workers will be needed to fill those new construction jobs. And these are good-paying jobs: Skilled laborers can earn $50,000 per year after just two years in the field.

That's why it was so encouraging to read a recent report in the Gazette-Times about a pre-apprenticeship program for local high school students. The program is meant to introduce students to career opportunities in construction.

Some 16 students from Corvallis recently spent a week learning about some of those opportunities. In addition to daily classroom work, they hauled mud and rock in wheelbarrows, set up forms, poured concrete and learned about safety equipment.

At week's end, as a reward, they got a shot at operating jackhammers. The students will return to the program for another week in May.

The program is a cooperative venture between the Corvallis School District, the Oregon Southern Idaho Laborers Training and Apprenticeship Program and the Bureau of Labor and Industries.

It's particularly encouraging to see the school district's involvement in the program. It would be an overstatement to say that our secondary schools have completely ignored the trades. But they could do a better job in calling students' attention to that career track.

Of course, funding is an issue: Trade education can be expensive. And technical-training programs can be the first to get cut for budget reasons.

That's why this type of multi-organization partnership makes sense for school districts to pursue. And considering the job our community colleges have done in retooling their approaches to career education, creating training programs to fill work-force gaps, the possibilities for deeper partnerships exist there as well.

It boils down to building better futures for our graduates. For some students, that might well mean simply learning how to build.