Vocational training may be 'golden opportunity' for students not planning on college

Some high school students never picture themselves attending a traditional four-year college. But that doesn't necessarily mean they won't obtain a high-quality education and have a successful career.

A college track isn't for some students because it doesn't fit their personality, said Amy Sutterer, lead counselor at Cape Girardeau Central High School. Usually students she sees have that figured out by their freshman or sophomore year.

"They are more hands-on," she said. "So the option of vocational training is kind of like a light at the end of the tunnel."

For the ones who aren't sure what they would like to do, Central principal Mike Cowan said, a student deciding to attend classes in the block sessions offered at the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center is probably making the best immediate choice.

"They have a golden opportunity," he said. "They can go immediately into well-paying employment in many cases."

Christopher Menz, a Kelly High School student, works on a clock during a construction technology class Wednesday at the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center. (Kristin Eberts)

The center offers 20 programs in areas like culinary arts or construction technology to juniors and seniors from 10 local school districts. Eighteen of the programs offer dual credit at Mineral Area College, Three Rivers College or Southeast Missouri State University.

Kristy Unger, who works with students on guidance and placement, said the chance to earn the credit still benefits those who make the decision to try for a two- or four-year degree because often the technical portion is already completed in high school.

At a national level, bachelor's degree recipients still have an advantage in the job market; lifetime earnings are higher, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

But the center's director, Rich Payne, said that when students choose the level of education they want to achieve, they should consider that the skills learned in vocational school are the same ones gained in regular academic courses, but having additional training for a career offers a faster return on their time investment. An example he gave is students who study electrical trades who soon move on after high school to an apprenticeship or start their own business.

"In other words, they can make money quicker," he said. "And if we do a good job with them -- which we try very hard to do -- they will be a step ahead of their peers."

Payne said students who attend the center are often types who always need to be up and doing things, so the type of learning offered in the programs suits them well.

"Everything we teach here are things they are going to need to know how to do," he said. "In welding, sure you have to know how to measure. But at the end of the day, more importantly, you have to know how to weld."

The number of high school students who have opted to study vocation at the center over their high school's regular academics has grown from 418 to 521 since last year.

Unger said the ways students are helped with finding employment upon graduation varies by program. During the course of a year, many instructors set up internships for the students, and the center hosts professional development days, one of which is a career and college fair.

Speakers from the community are often invited into classrooms to give insight on becoming successful in certain fields and give students connections within the community.

The center also offers endorsement through a career portfolio, which students have to earn with good grades, attendance and other means. The portfolios can include letters of recommendation for the student from instructors and the center's director.

Students can also earn certificates in several programs that show they are ready to enter the workforce. Cowan said although the goal of high school educators is to prepare students for college, they "want to see students leave prepared to do it all."

Admissions at Southeast Missouri State University are up 2.7 percent this fall compared to last, with 10,875 students as of Aug. 25. That number could have been higher had the university not required deferred admission for students who lived outside a 50-mile radius of the campus because of a shortage of space in residence halls. Three Rivers College has seen a 12 percent rise in enrollment this fall.

eragan@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

1080 S. Silver Springs Road, Cape Girardeau, MO