Area high school students tour trade offerings at Penn College
DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette. Welding assistant professor Jim Colton, right, shows Dylan Reiff, second from left, of Milton high school, how to weld using a virtual welding tool during the PA Build My Future tour of Penn College of Technology on Thursday. Hundreds of high school students got the opportunity to tour the campus to see some of the trade classes the school offers.
Students begin their tour of trade skill opportunities during the Pa Build My Future tours of Penn College of Technology Thursday Oct. 13, 2022. Hundreds of high school students got the opportunity to tour the campus to see some of the trade classes the school offers. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette.
High school student look at the SAE Baja racing cars that the students build and race during the Pa Build My Future tours of Penn College of Technology Thursday Oct. 13, 2022. Hundreds of high school students got the opportunity to tour the campus to see some of the trade classes the school offers. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette.
High school students look over the welding class facilities during the Pa Build My Future tours of Penn College of Technology Thursday Oct. 13, 2022. Hundreds of high school students got the opportunity to tour the campus to see some of the trade classes the school offers. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette
DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette. Welding assistant professor Jim Colton, right, shows Dylan Reiff, second from left, of Milton high school, how to weld using a virtual welding tool during the PA Build My Future tour of Penn College of Technology on Thursday. Hundreds of high school students got the opportunity to tour the campus to see some of the trade classes the school offers.
Students begin their tour of trade skill opportunities during the Pa Build My Future tours of Penn College of Technology Thursday Oct. 13, 2022. Hundreds of high school students got the opportunity to tour the campus to see some of the trade classes the school offers. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette.
High school student look at the SAE Baja racing cars that the students build and race during the Pa Build My Future tours of Penn College of Technology Thursday Oct. 13, 2022. Hundreds of high school students got the opportunity to tour the campus to see some of the trade classes the school offers. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette.
High school students look over the welding class facilities during the Pa Build My Future tours of Penn College of Technology Thursday Oct. 13, 2022. Hundreds of high school students got the opportunity to tour the campus to see some of the trade classes the school offers. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette
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The trades need workers -- and students want future jobs.
"There's a huge vacuum as far as the trades go," Eric Anstadt, an instructor in the electrical trades at Pennsylvania College of Technology, said.
The college hosted high school students from across the region this week for PA Build, a chance to learn about jobs in some of these trades and to "expose students to careers," Anstadt said.
"Manufacturing is up in the U.S.," said Jim Colton, instructor in welding. There are "a lot of opportunities. A lot of opportunities locally."
And students are interested.
"I want to become a carpenter," said sophomore Isaiah Wilson, of Williamsport Area High School. "I help my family work on houses."
"There's a bunch of different opportunities," said senior Kristen Goodman, of Williamsport Area High School.
"I'm really interested in my future here," said junior Chase Neumann of Carbon Career and Technical Institute in Jim Thorpe, who added he is interested in welding.
"I'm here to see about my options," said senior Logan Othoudt, of Selinsgrove Area High School.
In the electrical fields specifically, Anstadt said they wanted "to showcase what we have to offer."
"A lot of students, when they think of the electrical trades," they think about wiring buildings, Anstadt said. "We do a lot more than that."
Majors include electrical construction, electrical technologies, building automation and mechatronics.
Variety is also an asset in the school's welding program. Pennsylvania College of Technology, Colton said, is one of only four schools to offer a bachelor's degree in welding technology and is "probably the top program in the U.S.," he added.
The program also offers hybrid welding/machining education and has a new degree, likely the only in the U.S., for inspecting.
Both Anstadt and Colton noted the need to fill vacancies in the trades, as an older generation of workers retires. Colton said the average age for a welder in the U.S. today is about 60.
That need, Colton said, has led to major employers like Caterpillar Inc. and John Deere frequently visiting the campus. More than 270 employers have visited the college in the past three years to recruit the school's students, Anstadt said.