Career tech a county asset

BELGREEN – Tucked away behind Belgreen High School lies a valuable resource that many people are unaware of or that they simply don’t think of as an attribute to the community.

The Franklin County Career Technical Center, which is a separate school dedicated to teaching the county’s youth many important trades that will help them in their future careers, celebrated National Career Technical Education Week last week.

Director Herbert Trulove said the Franklin County Career Technical Center is probably one of the best kept secrets in the county even though it is part of the county school system and many of the county’s high school students attend classes there each day.

“Most of the time, people just see us as a place where students go for elective classes, but we are so much more than that,” Trulove said. “These students are learning valuable skills that prepare them for the workforce, so we’re really a center for workforce development.”

There are six programs offered at the career tech center but Trulove said there are a total of 16 career tech programs taught in schools throughout the county.

The programs offered at the career tech center include building construction technology, business education, collision repair technology, healthcare science, power equipment technology and welding.

Steve Watts, who teaches the collision repair technology classes, said the students in his program go over every aspect of collision repair and have a wealth of knowledge before they even graduate from high school.

“The students in this program can be certified leaving high school if they are willing to pay for their tests,” Watts said. “This is a great opportunity for those kids who are wanting to go into this field because they get valuable training and are have an upper hand on those who don’t get this kind of training in high school.”

Alex McDowell, a senior at Belgreen High School, has been part of the collision repair program for the past three years. Last week, he brought in a car he had built so he and his classmates could put on the finishing touches in the shop.

“Being part of this program has given me the opportunity to learn something different that I’ll actually be able to use in the future,” McDowell said. “Body work and painting is what I want to have a career in and now I feel like I’ve been given the knowledge I need and I’m better prepared to be able to find a job.”

Watts said that 97 percent of his students are placed in a college program or receive a job straight out of high school.

“At one point in time, 72 percent of the workers at the paint shop at Tiffin Motor Homes came through this program,” Watts said. “I don’t know what the number is now, but it’s still on up there.

“We have smart kids who do a great job and preparing them for the workforce right here in the county is a valuable asset to industry that is already here and industry that might be looking to locate here. They are well-trained in a skill and are ready to work.”

Terry Hall teaches the power mechanics class and said he has talked to many people who are starting to see the benefits of career technical programs.

“You wouldn’t believe the people who tell me they wish they would’ve taken a career tech class or had their children take a career tech class,” Hall said. “These classes give kids the opportunity to learn a simple skill they can go out and make a living with or something that will just be beneficial for them to know in the future.”

Hall said at the end of each school year, students complete a resume and a portfolio listing all the projects they worked on and all the skills they are trained in so when they are ready to apply for a job, they can tell their potential employer specifically what they can do.

“We give them all the tools they need to make the most of this opportunity,” Hall said.

Trulove pointed out that there is sometimes a misconception that career tech classes are only to learn a specific skill or trade, but he said they have a few programs that prepare students for other types of careers.

“We have many students who go through the business education classes and the healthcare science classes,” he said. “These students are looking for careers in business management, accounting, nursing, medical assistants and other things of that nature. There are many different possibilities.”

Kay Hargett, who teaches the healthcare science classes, said her students are interested in fields like nursing, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, pre-med and optometry.

“We have three METI learning simulators that allow the students to get a feel for what they’ll be doing if they choose to go to nursing school or medical school,” Hargett said. “We’ve obtained a lot of our simulators and equipment through grants and we have high tech equipment that you don’t see at very many places.

“Our students will definitely be adequately prepared and will have an advantage if they choose to enter nursing school because they already have a firm knowledge base of the terms they’ll need to know to get in to nursing programs.”

Doris Holderby, who teaches the business education classes, said the skills students learn in classes like basic keyboarding, personal finance and web design are skills they will use in many aspects of their life.

“I don’t think there is a job out there where knowing how to use a computer won’t be necessary at some point,” Holderby said. “I can’t even go and get my oil changed now without somebody there having to use a computer. And knowing how to manage your finances is just essential knowledge to have.”

Trulove said the necessity for career tech programs is evident but that fact unfortunately doesn’t make these programs immune to cuts in funding when the money is tight.

“About 65 to 70 percent of the student in Alabama will wind up pursuing career technical jobs,” Trulove said. “We are dedicated to giving the students in our county the best resources we can to prepare them for our future and it’s something I hope to do for a long time.

“I want to continue making improvements and adding more courses like cosmetology and drafting to provide even more opportunities for our students.

“These fields are important areas of learning and we’re glad Franklin County has a place for our young people to learn these skills.”