Career Academies 'An Amazing Opportunity' for High School Students
Horticulture, Construction Academies Offer Instruction, On-the-Job Training, Experience
from argusleader.com
This summer, Southeast Technical College will continue offering its construction academy and will start a horticulture career academy following Sioux Falls school board approval Wednesday afternoon.
The new horticulture career academy offers on-the-job experience learning horticulture and sports turf management skills to high school students 16 and older. In the academy, students earn high school and college credit while also being paid up to $5,000.
A blend of classroom instruction, lab experience and job training lets students learn about plant biology, plant physiology, pests, soft skills essential to job success and career awareness in the program.
Board Vice President Carly Reiter said the summer academies are an “amazing opportunity” for students, and may be “equivalent or even better” than an internship for a student, because some internships are unpaid and the summer academies give real-world career experience.
The college is also continuing the construction career academy for high school students 16 and older this summer. Students can earn college credit and as much as $12.50 to $14 an hour learning on the job with local construction professionals.
Students learn safety, basic hand and power tools, construction basics, soft skills essential to job success, career awareness and blueprint reading in the program.
“Every industry is really looking at how to get students into their field,” said Craig Peters, the school’s dean of curriculum and instruction. “Right now, I heard there’s 150 houses for sale in Sioux Falls, that’s it. I think I heard from homebuilders last year, we could build 6,000 homes and not even touch it. Construction’s obviously a very important area.”
The board also acknowledged a memorandum of understanding between the district and the college to provide dual and concurrent enrollment to students.
This means high school faculty can become certified to teach Southeast Tech courses at the high school. Students enrolled in these concurrent enrollment courses will earn both high school and college credit.
The college has also established partnerships with Harrisburg, Tea and Brandon Valley, and is providing students the opportunity to take courses in construction management, health care and welding.
Horticulture Career Academy Construction Career Academy
May 7, 2021
Apprenticeship, Career Exploration, Career Services, Construction, Dual Credit, Horticulture