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John Hager / Staff Photographer
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Butler Twp. — Mason Panko and Lukas Smolinski, who were speaking together at the Career Day Expo, are both 11th graders at Hazleton Regional Science Academy, but they have different plans.
Panko wants to learn a trade, while Smolinski wants to go to university.
On Wednesday, individuals had a chance to plan their next steps at a career day hosted by Greater Hazleton Partners in Education and hosted by the Keystone Job Corps Center.
Hundreds of high school students from Hazleton and Weatherly area school districts and Job Corps paraded through the center’s gymnasium to discuss job and training prospects with each other and with representatives from 43 businesses, unions, nonprofits, and schools. We talked.
Mr. Smolinski wants to become a math or history teacher and is focusing on Bloomsburg University’s education program, with the possibility of pursuing an advanced degree or certification to become a principal or school administrator. .
Panko said he is interested in jobs such as plumbing and electrical work, and that his father is a merchant who owns a business that sells septic systems and grinder pumps.
“He’s always busy,” Panko said, adding that his father sometimes comes home from work in the middle of the night.
Whether students pursue college or a career after high school, the adults they spoke with had good news about job prospects.
Dan Clarkson, a member of Local 445 of the Union of Carpenters and Joiners, said that in his 23 years as a union carpenter, the amount of work he had done in the past three years stood out and was “unlike anything I’ve ever seen.” said. ”
Unions such as carpenters, insulation and electricians offer training programs called apprenticeships that pay young workers a salary while they learn the trade.
After four or five years, apprentices graduate to become journeymen and often earn salaries comparable to college graduates, but without the college debt.
“It’s easy,” said John Nadolny, training director for International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 163 in Nanticoke.
Lisa Weikel, human resources manager at Hayden Electric in Hazle Twp, said her company offers 10 apprenticeships a year to high school graduates. Over four years, they undergo 600 hours of training, half of which is covered by the company, and spend 8,000 hours on paid work.
“Kids say four years is a long time, but look at what you can do. You’re building a career,” Weikel said, adding that craftsmen are foremen, purchasers and estimators. He pointed out that there is a possibility of being promoted to a senior official.
Johann Peña tried to get into the trade, but he was studying welding at the Hazleton Area Career Center and was currently in the 12th grade. But I didn’t like it, so now I want to study computer science in college, probably Penn State University.
“I’ll probably be working while I’m there,” Pena said.
Yariel Castillo, also a 12th grader at the career center, said she might work for a year to earn money for college, but ultimately would like to get a job that pays well and allows her to work from home. .
“I want to be comfortable while making money,” Castillo said.
Their friend and career center classmate, Henry Almonte, said he was interested in attending Johnson University to study a trade such as construction.
Luzerne County Community College has a new trade lab for studying electrical engineering and other technical fields in the college’s Hazleton Center.
LCCC also provides instruction for students learning English as a second language. In addition, Kimberly Whalen, who manages the Hazleton center, said students can complete general education requirements for other programs, such as nursing, there.
Lehigh Valley Health Network, which operates Hazleton’s hospital and is now a partner at Jefferson Health, offers high school graduates a way to explore careers, reimbursing them for college courses and other training. said Melanie Broyan, Northeast Regional Patient Access Director.
For example, students interested in nursing can work with nurses in specialties such as emergency medicine, surgery, obstetrics, and childbirth to find the field they like best.
Health networks also offer similar ways to find jobs that are not directly related to patient care.
“Healthcare is not just a medical job,” said Broyan, who started in marketing and public relations at a hospital and worked her way up to her current job over the past 17 years. She said the Lehigh Valley employs workers skilled in business, internet technology and even photography.
Keystone Job Corp student Tristan Graves poses for a photo at the center’s student government career day.
Students from Keystone’s culinary program made scones and coffee for the adults, then served lunch, and students from the security program helped visitors find their way to the gym.
Kerry King, Keystone’s executive director, said students need to practice the skills they’ve been learning. Career Day offered all attendees the opportunity to tour the center, which provides career training and academic programs to approximately 350 students and places some students into apprenticeship programs.
Graves, who enrolled at Keystone University a year ago, completed a study program in office management and is currently studying facilities maintenance.
Graves said he’s considering joining the military when he’s done, but “I’m also considering other options.”
Five Academy of Sciences students, all 11th graders, gathered near the U.S. Navy table and said they were interested in a career in the military.
“I think the country needs that,” Luke Widucci said.
Ryan Sharbatty and Jeremy Ziller, whose father and Benjamin Assad’s family members were in the military, said all three are considering other careers. Mr. Assad is interested in real estate, Mr. Sherbatty is interested in engineering, and Mr. Ziller is interested in athletic training, while his friend Joneidi Trinidad is interested in working in electrical or plumbing work or joining the Pennsylvania State Police. We are considering. A police officer was speaking to students from a table across the aisle. From the Navy.
International Paper’s Nadine Veet recalled a time when she was trying to decide on a career, asking students what kind of jobs they were interested in. “A lot of them don’t know,” Vito said. “That’s why you’re trying to get information out.”
International, a global company that manufactures corrugated boxes in the Humboldt Industrial Park, offers jobs such as machine operators, supervisors, managers, and skilled maintenance, but with sustainable salaries and benefits that are “unthinkable in the company.” Hiring people for work. home.
“They can make a career out of it,” said Vito, who found his place at International 35 years ago.
First published: October 23, 2024 at 4:32 p.m.
