The Women in Trades Fair remains a powerful investment in the future workforce, future communities, and future leaders who will help shape the built environment for generations to come.

Each year, the Fair creates space for high school youth, middle school, and emerging professionals to explore careers in the trades through hands-on experiences, conversations with industry professionals, and exposure to pathways that may once have felt out of reach. For many attendees, it is the first opportunity to see themselves reflected in careers connected to construction, engineering, design, and project management.

And that opportunity matters.

Across the Harborview campus, innovative health care projects are being planned, designed, and constructed to support patient care, sustainability, and the long-term health of the community. These projects require more than technical expertise. They require a strong and diverse workforce prepared to build spaces that serve people from all walks of life with dignity, safety, and inclusion at the center.

That is why the Harborview Construction and Infrastructure Division (HCID) shifted from supporting other departments to managing its own booth at the Fair, held May 1, 2026, at Seattle Center.

The HCID booth featured an engaging collaborative virtual reality experience led by HCID design partner Perkins&Will. The interactive session invited participants to step inside a recently developed clinic floor at the Harborview hospital. Students and apprentices explored operating rooms, waiting rooms, and administrative spaces, gaining insight into how architects, builders, and project teams work together to create complex medical facilities.

Participation in the Fair aligned with the HCID equity and social justice values of supporting workforce development and expanding access to opportunity, and the King County mission to make the county a welcoming community where every person can thrive.

For more information about the event, visit https:/wawomenintrades.com.