By Stephen Smoot
Between World War II and the first decade of the 21st century, the mantra echoed over the years that students must attend college to have a chance at a prosperous life. Though that was never true, it was seen and presented as such until recently.
First came the decline in the economic value of the average four-year college degree. By the 2020s, reports indicated that two-year associates degrees and advanced degrees both paid more. Due to growing shortages of trained and experienced workers, many trades careers by the same time paid better than most college degrees, even terminal ones.
Most recently has come fears that artificial intelligence will do to white collar jobs what increased mechanization in the 20th century did to blue, wipe out entire fields of work, especially at the entry level.
This has combined to create the opposite of the perfect storm for the trades. Those seeking hands-on careers requiring high proficiency in skills and a broad base of field knowledge will continue to find some of the best paying opportunities anywhere, as well as the chance to have a thriving life in their home communities.
And the South Branch Career and Technical Center, recognized as a top facility in and out of the state, can open significant numbers of doors into critical need jobs and careers.
Shelly Crites, principal, explained that “I couldn’t imagine having access to these classes when I was in high school.” General fields taught there include building maintenance and operations, welding, law and public safety, tourism, broadcasting, therapeutic services, automotive, cosmetology, carpentry and CAD.
“We are looking to add HVAC and plumbing,” Crites explained, and said that it had been difficult to find instructors since teaching a trade pays much less than performing one.
Counter to some long-established ideas that a student should have a strong idea of what they wish to do by the time they enter high school, Crites implements a different philosophy. “I want them to think ‘I can do anything,” she said. In practice, that means encouraging experimentation, trying a field out, then having the opportunity to switch to another should the first not prove worthwhile for whatever reason.
“If they don’t like it, they can change,” shared Crites, who added that “they can decide at six to nine weeks.”
One of the concepts that has made South Branch and a few other career and technical centers, such as James Rumsey in Berkeley County, or Calhoun Gilmer in the central part of the state, so successful is the simulated workplace program. Students are expected to adhere to employment, as opposed to academic, standards.
The first step lies in getting students ready for hands-on work with potentially dangerous materials. “Our first two weeks are safety, safety, safety,” explained Crites. At the close of that period, students must earn a perfect score on the safety exam. “We can’t be 85 percent safe,” she explained “we have to be 100 percent safe.”
Simulated workplace goes much further. Attendance and tardiness policies align more with those of private sector business than classes in school. Students are instructed in professional behavior, appearance, and communication as part of their curriculum. The goal lies in giving students the fundamental tools for success whether the next step lies in higher education or the workforce.
She explained that it takes time for new teachers “cycling in” to adapt to including such a different manner of instruction, but that those that have served there at least a few years have it fully implemented in their own courses.
Crites shared high praise for the instructors at South Branch saying that she has as dedicated and as effective a group of teachers as she has ever had. She explained that each one works their best to get the best out of each student. That may have been part of one student’s reasoning for choosing a South Branch program. Crites related that the student said “this place has a whole different vibe.”
Financial support for the center comes from Hardy, Pendleton, and Grant counties via a formula established by the state. Over and above the required support, Grant County’s school levy also provides $20,000 over the course of the levy to help with materials and supplies.
South Branch serves both middle and high schoolers, but middle schoolers all come from Grant County. Care is taken to minimize mixing middle and high school students to the extent of adding extra bathrooms for safety. Additionally, all Petersburg High School ninth graders go to SBCTC for a semester.
“Our middle school is a model program for the state,” stated Crites, who explained that the focus on hands-on experience and career pathways elevates it in esteem.
Opportunities abound for students to do more outside of their scholastic requirements. Skills USA functions much like Future Farmers of America in that students can participate in skills demonstration competitions at the school, state, and national levels. Pendleton County Middle/High School senior Kaitlyn McQuade, for example, will soon go to national competition for “Job Skills Demonstration.” McQuade took lessons learned from her experience on a state qualifying varsity cheerleader squad, coached by Rebecca Miller, and used Skills USA to transform that knowledge into a professional presentation.
Along the way, her fellow students in carpentry class constructed the platform she uses to show the moves.
“I taught judges how to be a flier,” McQuade explained. That included precise explanations on correct body positioning. She demonstrates on the platform “what I do in the air.”
Students also work to earn certifications that demonstrate to future employers their mastery of a certain skill. Bryce Basagic, a PCM/HS junior, showed off a thick portfolio that included all of his earned certifications. Those include certifications in using machines to set automobile alignments, performing service on air conditioning, using tire-changing equipment and much more.
His goal lies in getting a mechanic job, inspired by his grandfather’s work. Basagic explained that “I saw a nice clean shop, organized, with nice stuff and I said ‘I’m really going to do that.’”
From literal high fliers to those who are looking at being high fliers in their future careers. South Branch Career and Technical Center is poised to help any student make the right moves.
