PHOENIX — There should be more discussions about trade schools in Arizona classrooms, according to Republican State Sen. Carine Werner.
“If you are somebody who’s very interested in mechanics or welding or that hands-on trade, then it wouldn’t serve them to go to college,” Werner said. “I think it’s important that we start shining a light on that in our schools and destroying that narrative that you have to go to college.”
Werner, who serves on the Senate’s education committee, said trade skills are so critical that Arizona’s economy would screech to a halt without HVAC technicians, plumbers or welders.
How trade schools help Arizona students explore career options
Trade school has been a tremendous help to Sheridan Deike, who struggled with reading and writing in school.
“I couldn’t excel in any writing or anything,” Deike said. “Going into a trade school, I got to do what I excelled at.”
She graduated from Universal Technical Institute in March. The tech school in Avondale taught her the skills she needed to pursue a career as a power generation technician with Cummins.
“There’s not one student out there that doesn’t like to tinker with something. I met kids that (took) coolers and made them into stereo boxes. They don’t know what they want to do, but they know they love tinkering with it,” Deike said. “Trade schools specialize in that.”
Deike was offered a job in North Carolina following her trade school graduation.
Some trade schools in Arizona also help high schoolers
Western Maricopa Education Center (West-MEC), a trade school in Glendale, prepares high school students and young adults for careers in robotics, welding and water management.
Chris Judd, a water systems instructor at the school, said some of his students find jobs managing municipal water treatment systems after graduating.
“They can work at any of the cities, Buckeye, Tolleson, Avondale, Goodyear, Surprise,” Judd said. “They all need these employees, and they hire them in at somewhere between $20 and $25 bucks an hour right out of high school.”
Having students join Arizona companies after trade school keeps jobs local, expands career opportunities, and strengthens the state’s economy, Judd added.
“Palo Verde generating plant, although it’s older, they use lots and lots of water, and they have to have water treated to specific standards, so they’re currently hiring a bunch of people,” Judd said. “Nestlé just came in; they need people to manage their water. Gatorade needs people to manage their water.”
Increased enrollment in Arizona trade schools could improve economy
According to a report from Education Forward Arizona, if post-high school education enrollment goes up by 20%, the state will, over time, bring in $5 billion dollars in economic gain.
Werner said that economic boost on top of supporting companies like TSMC and Intel proves how important trade schools are.
She said having schools like West-MEC that use the trades as a dual enrollment program for high schoolers could be a solution to boost enrollment in the trades. She added having trade schools go to local schools and urging students to apply could be another option to get more students in trade schools, and into essential career positions.
Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.
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