Latest news with #HeavyMetalSummerExperience
CBS News
a day ago
- Business
- CBS News
Roseville-based company hosts program to guide high schoolers to high-demand trade careers
ROSEVILLE – A unique summer program is giving high school students a head start on a stable, well-paying career, not in a college classroom, but on the job site. Monday marked the first day of a week-long course designed to introduce students to careers in construction. It's part of the Heavy Metal Summer Experience, a national program focused on showing students the wide range of opportunities available in the skilled trades. The goal is to expose young people to career paths that don't require a four-year degree. Instead, students can pursue training through trade schools and apprenticeship programs, often avoiding student debt altogether. The Roseville-based company Intech Mechanical is hosting the program for the second year in a row. For one week, many of the company's staff step into the role of instructors, sharing real-world knowledge and guiding hands-on training. According to Gary Myers, a partner at Intech Mechanical and director of the local program, the effort is both timely and necessary. "Our industry needed to do a better job of promoting the construction industry as a whole," Myers said. "And teaching these high school kids there's a lot of opportunities, whether that's being a sheet metal worker, plumber, pipe fitter, electrician, construction worker, laborer, whatever that is." The program comes at a critical time. The skilled trades are facing a significant shortage of workers as older generations retire, leaving tens of thousands of job openings across the country. Fields like electrical work and pipefitting are experiencing especially high demand and programs like this are helping prepare the next generation to step in.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Industry groups launch National Career In Trades Week
This story was originally published on Construction Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Construction Dive newsletter. Aaron Hilger thinks it's time to double down on recruiting Generation Z to the trades. 'I'm a parent of three 20-year-olds, so I'm on the front lines of discussions about trades and careers,' said Hilger, CEO of the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors' National Association. Hilger said he was pleased when his triplets had visitors to their high school a few years ago discussing options for careers outside of pursuing higher education. Although college remains the most popular option for teenagers, a large group of the emerging workforce is realizing college may not fit them. Around nine in 10 members of Gen Z — those born between 1997 and 2012 — said learning a skilled trade can be a better route to economic security than college, according to a Thumbtack survey. Eight in 10 parents agreed. 'I think a lot of that has changed because the cost of college has gotten so high,' Hilger said. 'It used to be when I went to school, an expensive school was $20,000 a year. Now a lot of private schools are $80,000 a year. That ROI calculation with those kinds of numbers becomes a lot more challenging.' To capitalize on that trend, and to help with the massive gap in demand for workers, SMACNA is partnering with the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers and the International Training Institute to launch the first National Careers In Trades Week April 7-11. The goal is to increase awareness of the benefits of choosing careers in the trades for American job seekers. This week, the groups will provide a push on social media to continue to try to advertise the trades, particularly to Gen Z, and reach markets or regions it hasn't attempted to recruit in before. That includes highlighting the types of technology tools that are used on the job, Hilger said, as Gen Z grew up with more tech in their hands at a younger age than previous generations. But first and foremost, it's about emphasizing the earning potential. 'You can actually see the results of your work,' Hilger said. 'That's always been appealing to a certain group of young folks. And I think it may be a little more appealing now, particularly when you weigh in the earning potential.' The groups plan to share stories from programs like Heavy Metal Summer Experience, such as that of Alejandra Rios. Rios said her dad was a carpenter, but she still didn't feel like the trades were advertised to her. Now, she's in her second year of a five-year journeyman program studying at Sheet Metal Workers Union Local 66 in Western Washington. A commonly used phrase was a big part of Rios choosing to pursue the trades, and something she hoped her peers may consider rather than pursuing college and accruing debt. 'One of the biggest things for me is like a zinger that our union has, which is 'Earn while you learn,'' Rios told Construction Dive.
