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State, higher-ed institutions work to increase interest in technical, blue collar careers

These trades traditionally require apprenticeships, not college, but now schools are working with employers to fill that labor pipeline and prime the apprenticeship pump.

ARKANSAS (KTHV) - It's graduation season with gymnasiums across the state full of high school seniors looking ahead to college.

More and more college grads will tell those high schoolers that the tried-and-true path to success isn't always a four-year degree program. College may not be the answer for everyone.

That realization comes as the demand for skilled technical, blue-collar workers goes up and up. And now Arkansas and higher-education institutions are working to close the gap and cure the blue-collar blues.

“In Hot Springs alone I believe there's 300 heating and air companies,” said Gerald Weatherford, an apprentice the HVAC program at National Park Community College.

Kelli Albrecht, the vice president for workforce programs in Hot Springs, points out that Weatherford could choose from apprenticeship programs in electrical, plumbing and computer numerical computation machinist programs as well as heating, venting and air conditioning.

The school’s programs let Weatherford learn and earn. He already has 15 years of experience in the field, but his boss at Daniell Heat & Air want him to advance in that career.

“I’m just continuing my education,” said Weatherford. “Basically what it's doing it's giving me a new enlightenment on the service side.”

The work Weatherford does is not normally associated with higher education, but schools and the state are trying to change that. It starts by getting the word out about what a trade career pays.

According to the federal government, CNC machinists, HVAC techs, plumbers and stonemasons are fields that are expected to grow and produce jobs at a faster-than-average rate over the next eight years.

The median pay last year ranged from $17 per hour to as high as $26, and electrician jobs will see average growth with median pay over $26.

Credit: KTHV

These trades traditionally require apprenticeships, not college, but now schools are working with employers to fill that labor pipeline and prime the apprenticeship pump.

“A student who starts out as an apprentice may start out at 10 to 12 dollars an hour," Albrecht said. “Within a few years of getting skilled and working hard and doing a great job, they can make anywhere from 20 to 25 dollars an hour.”

That money comes in the same amount of time as it takes many students in college degree programs to rack up tens of thousands of dollars in school loan debt.

And while computer technology is more and more a part of our lives (and the people who program those computers become more and more important), the need remains there for people to build, wire and cool our homes.

Schools are working with the state to open those pathways to fill those low-tech jobs while looking to emphasize high-tech aspects to attract the next generation. That’s where Joshua Janikowski of Fox Valley Technical College jumps in with virtual reality goggles.

“It puts the engine right in front of you as a hologram,” Janikowski said as he projected a virtual diesel engine hologram on to a screen at the annual Arkansas Trucking Association Conference.

For young, hands-on learners raised on video games, he says this kind of training is addictive.

“They don't want to put it down. They just kept making it bigger, checking out the valves and the whole thing. Running all kinds of different simulations on it.”

At the same conference is Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin where he is focused on getting rid of what he calls burdensome regulations. The Republican former congressman calls them obstacles to getting into and staying in the trades.

“When government imposes rules and regulations on workers, that is a hindrance to the economy,” Griffin said. “In many cases [these regulations] don’t make a lot of common sense. They’re not reasonable. They have nothing to do with health and safety. They are simply anti-competitive.”

“Somebody just wants to go out there and work and make a living, pay their bills, take care of their kids, [and] we create hurdles worse than most states to doing that,” said Republican State Rep. Bob Ballinger who is taking up the licensing reform issue in the legislature. “We’re not talking about doctors and lawyers. We’re talking about someone who just wants to go out and build something, or cut hair or what have you.”

Both Griffin and Ballinger point to a study placing Arkansas second-last in the U.S. when it comes to licensing burdens. Reform efforts have had mixed success in recent legislative sessions and both politicians admit further progress will take time in Washington and Little Rock.

One area Griffin hopes to change quickly are rules that allow people with trade skills who transfer to Arkansas as part of a military family can more easily get credit for experience, hours and qualifications from other states.

Meanwhile educators will keep boosting those starting or continuing on the technical career path.

“The more students realize these types of opportunities make great careers, they realize they don't have to go the four-year university route,” said Albrecht.

“In today's world we're always looking for skilled tradesmen and tradeswomen,” Weatherford said. “I mean everybody's going to need heating and air for the rest of time.”

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