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To celebrate Women in Construction Week this year, a local group has planned something old and something new.

The designated week of March 5-11 is designed to call national attention to the wide range of roles that women play in the world of construction, from tradeswomen and project managers to estimators and lawyers. But some industry groups also see the week as a way to educate others about how construction can offer high-paying, professionally fulfilling careers.

The latter goal is at the heart of several of the events planned by the Portland chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction.

Portland-area students at St. Mary’s Academy and Lincoln High School, for example, will learn about construction career opportunities during panel discussions to be held Monday and Tuesday. The women on the panels all work in the local industry, but they represent more than just traditional industry roles, according to Kelly Aust, a Skanska project manager and NAWIC Portland chapter president.

鈥淲e have a chief operating engineer, a construction lawyer, a structural engineer,鈥� she said. 鈥淧eople think about construction and if you’re not in the industry, it 鈥� looks like you finish a building and that’s all there is to it. But there’s really a lot of diversity. There are a lot of professional career paths that intersect with the construction industry.鈥�

On Thursday, Skanska will open up the world of construction to the public by offering a tour of the Porter Hotel job site, a visit that will include a look at how virtual reality is helping shape projects in Portland. The tour is open to the public, though advance registration is required, Aust said. Anyone interested in attending can contact her at [email protected] or visit the NAWIC chapter’s website at .

While the panel discussions and project tour are new events for Women in Construction Week, the Portland chapter also will return to tradition by holding a clothing drive for Dress for Success Oregon, a nonprofit that helps women achieve economic independence by providing business attire and professional development.

This is the sixth consecutive year the chapter has held the drive, Aust said. The chapter will accept donations of nearly new women’s professional attire, shoes and accessories at each of its events this week, as well as at the chapter’s monthly meeting on March 16.

This year the Daily Journal of Commerce will support the chapter’s drive by serving as a drop-off point for donations as well. Donations can be dropped off from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the 91视频 office at 921 S.W. Washington St., suite 210, in downtown Portland.

Further south, the NAWIC chapter in Salem will celebrate women in construction with a Wednesday luncheon featuring guest speaker Susan Wooley of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries.

Meanwhile, the members of the Eugene NAWIC chapter will hold a Wednesday tour of the newly remodeled Eugene Airport, followed by a Friday evening event at Elkhorn Brewery, 686 E. Broadway in Eugene. For more information about the events in the Eugene area, visit the NAWIC Chapter #77 website at .