The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has received an "innovation" award for its Construction Challenge student competition. The AEM workforce initiative promotes greater awareness of construction industry careers and industry contributions to an improved standard of living.

The "innovation" award, sponsored by Trade Show Executive magazine, recognises programmes that provide new value for show organisers, attendees and exhibitors, and that contribute to the exposition industry as a whole.

An independent panel of judges selected eight organisations in the annual recognition programme.

The finals of the inaugural Construction Challenge were held at the AEM booth on the CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2008 show floor. AEM is an owner of and manages the triennial event.

Student participants also toured the show and had the opportunity to talk with AEM member companies and other show exhibitors about the industry and the exposition.

The 2009 Challenge finals competition, which recently ended, was held at the global finals of the Destination ImagiNation organisation, which is a Challenge partner.

The innovation award judges cited the AEM programme as "heads and shoulders above other (industry) recruitment efforts" because of the innovative partnering with Destination ImagiNation and a commitment to measuring programme results.

The AEM Construction Challenge focuses on middle and high school students, and it uses a team format that emphasises creativity and problem solving skills. Challenge teams are surveyed pre- and post-participation on their knowledge of the construction industry, including careers and the importance of a well-maintained infrastructure.