Downtown FabWorks, a leading provider of turnkey fabrication solutions for creative projects across the attractions industry, has been delivering outreach initiatives with local organisations to inspire Gen Z students to choose meaningful, creative careers in bespoke scenic and architectural fabrication.
These recent engagements demonstrate the company's dedication to the next generation of professionals and its strong belief that mastering a skilled trade is more than just a job; it offers a basis for lifelong opportunity.
Building sustainable careers
The company has participated in two programmes that seek to open doors for young people interested in skilled trades and STEM-related disciplines.
On 9 February, Daniel Krall, founder and president, and Timotheus Davis, art director, visited welding students at the New Orleans Career Center (NOCC). They shared the importance of artisanship, versatility, and vision in building a sustainable career.
NOCC is a 501(c)3 organisation situated in New Orleans’ Treme Neighborhood. It offers high school and adult trainees career preparation and technical skills training for industry-based credentials (IBCs), paving the way for employment in high-salary, high-demand industry sectors.
The organisation supports trainees in gaining technical skills, meaningful work-based learning experiences, and impactful community and employer relationships. This seeks to ensure that they are set for success in college, careers, and life.
In this session, Krall discussed his journey from being an apprentice in a scenic fabrication shop, where he learned basic carpentry and welding, to eventually leading crews and managing complex projects, culminating in founding Downtown FabWorks.
What started as practical trade experience evolved into a pathway into the specialised field of experiential fabrication, showing that technical skills can open doors to entrepreneurship and creative leadership.
Between film productions, Davis often works with Downtown FabWorks on projects and installation management.
From a carpentry apprenticeship in homebuilding, he followed his passion for construction and the arts into scenic fabrication and design, going on to establish a career in Hollywood as an art director and production designer.
Both speakers underscored how their foundational trade skills reliably provided stability and opportunity during transitional moments.
Students were encouraged to think beyond their trades' traditional pathways, such as homebuilding or commercial construction for carpenters, or oil, shipbuilding, or industrial construction for welding students.
The presentation aimed to introduce students to the creative and artistic possibilities of experiential fabrication and design, and to consider their next steps after mastering their initial skill set.
In April, Downtown FabWorks plans to host a tour of its fabrication facility for interested NOCC students and to offer firsthand insight into the entire bespoke fabrication process.
Fostering high-wage, high-growth careers
Downtown FabWorks is also taking part in GNO, Inc.'s Innovation Internship Program (GIIP), an eight-week, paid internship for undergraduate students attending four-year college and university courses, either in Louisiana or with permanent residency in the Greater New Orleans area.
GIIP helps local students access high-wage, high-growth career pathways by connecting them with some of the most innovative industries and employers in the region and by offering practical experience in entrepreneurship, energy, engineering, venture capital/private equity, and STEM-related fields.
On 25 February, Essence Banks, director of people, and Kyle Salzman, VP of operations, interviewed college students interested in STEM-related fields to explore ways to introduce emerging local talent to real-world experiential fabrication opportunities.
Kyle Salzman and Essence Banks
This summer, the company plans to host its first interns from the NOCC student cohort and the GNO, Inc. Innovation Internship Program.
It will offer a firsthand look at the complete project lifecycle, from sales and project management to technical design, CNC, millwork, metalworks, finishing, AV & lighting integration, installation, and delivery.
Through these initiatives, Downtown FabWorks seeks to engage more young people in New Orleans with experiential fabrication, a specialised but growing field that blends art, engineering, and artisanship.
Additionally, it fulfils its broader values of investing in community, encouraging the arts, and supporting pathways that allow young, skilled workers to earn a sustainable living doing work they are proud of.
While only one element of the company’s ongoing dedication to New Orleans, these programmes highlight a core conviction that when young people have strong technical foundations and are presented with new possibilities, they can forge careers and communities that thrive.
Last month, Downtown FabWorks shared details of its contribution to an immersive, theatrical tribute to Anne Rice at the historic Orpheum Theater.
