CLHS holds first-ever skilled trades fair

CENTER LINE — Now that he is in his senior year at Center Line High School, Erich Fleischhut has been asked many times about his future goals.

He’s in the high school’s Academy of Industry, Technology and Innovation program and plans to pursue a career in skilled trades after graduation.

Fleischhut got a closer look at his options during the school’s first-ever skilled trades fair held Feb. 8. A total of 13 vendors from different trades set up tables inside the school gym to talk shop with the students. The students were brought down in three different groups between 7:35 a.m. and 10:40 a.m.

“I think this is pretty good. This has been helpful. I did not know about sheet metal. It got me thinking more about what I want to do. If we didn’t have this we wouldn’t know about the jobs,” Fleischhut said. “I could not do four years in college. There are a lot of people at our school that are more hands-on. They need a lot of people for these trade jobs.”

Center Line High School has two academies: the Academy of Industry, Technology and Innovation and the Academy of Health and Human Services. The academies — designed to prepare students for college and careers after high school —  give students the opportunity to learn in the context of related career fields and possibly earn career certifications.

“It’s very special,” Fleischhut said. “It’s kind of a privilege.”

District Academy Coach Christine Akroush organized the skilled trades fair.

“The kids have been actively engaged in asking questions,” Akroush said. “We have our ITI Academy, which supports these kinds of trades. We want the students to ask questions about careers they can pursue.”

The school’s freshmen are currently making their class schedules for next year where they will either select the Industry, Technology and Innovation program, or Health and Human Services.

Brad Pierce, Iron Workers Local 25 outreach specialist, was among those who met with students at last week’s fair.

“I am here representing our apprenticeship program,” Pierce said. “Students get 200 hours of classroom training and 2,000 hours of on-the-job training a year for four years. We have 129 contractors in Michigan.”

To qualify for the journeyman ironworker apprenticeship program, participants must have a high school diploma or a GED. The four-year program trains students to perform reinforced ironwork, rigging/machinery moving, and architectural ornamental ironwork. One current project for Iron Workers Local 25 is the construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge in Detroit.

The Iron Workers Local 25 apprenticeship programs are approved and regulated by the U.S. Department of Labor and the Office of Apprenticeship. The Iron Workers Local 25 Training Center, located in Wixom and in Hudsonville, are set up under a collective bargaining agreement between the contractors and the union.

“Every six months, (students) get a raise as long as they do what they are supposed to do,” Pierce said. “We’re looking for people who show up every day. We’re looking for someone who is ready and willing to do the physical work.”

At another table, Prudence Rose, recruitment outreach for M.U.S.T. (Management & Unions Serving Together,) shared information about construction career and apprenticeship opportunities.

M.U.S.T. offers hands-on learning and on-the-job training. The apprentices spend the majority of their time on the job site learning from a journey-level tradesperson. The hands-on education is supported by the classroom learning, which includes textbooks, online and lab settings.

“We have sheet metal workers, carpenters, ironworkers, roofers, bricklayers. These are not jobs, they are careers. The different trades all offer something different,” Rose said. “We like to let the kids know what’s available to them when they graduate from high school.”

Students in the program must be 18 years or older and have a high school diploma or GED, have a driver’s license and transportation.

“They have to be 100% drug free,” Rose said. “It’s a safety issue.”

Center Line Public Schools Board of Education Secretary Wendy Watters stopped by the fair last week.

“I think this is giving our children a specific vision of what they can do,” she said.

Ninth grade student Abigail Chaffin found the skilled trades fair “beneficial.”

“I think it was very cool. I think there was a lot of construction,” she said. “I learned a lot about the skilled trades aspect of finding a job.”

Chaffin, however, has her heart set on becoming a college professor, possibly at a school in Pennsylvania.

The other vendors included AIS Construction Equipment; Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 2; Macomb Community College; Michigan Statewide Carpenters and Millwrights; Operating Engineers Local 324; Roofers Union Local 149/Southeastern Michigan Roofing Contractors Association; Sheet Metal Workers (SMART) Local 80 Training Center; Southeast Michigan Construction Academy; Universal Contracting Services; and Universal Technical Institute. Students from the CLHS welding class also set up an information table.