Industrial Career Day brings out a crowd
GNTC gives high school students an opportunity to find out more about skilled trades.
Almost 400 high school students from Rome and Floyd County, as well as neighboring counties, got a glimpse at the industrial careers and skilled trades they may one day become professionals in on Thursday.
Georgia Northwestern Technical College held its first Industrial Career Day in the Industrial Alley on the local campus. Demonstrations, handson activities and simulations from over 13 trade programs were presented to students. Students also got a shot at working on their soft skills by speaking with prospective employers and getting to chat with program instructors about where a specific trade could take them.
Scott Carter, an electrical systems technology instructor, said the college does a lot with the Floyd County Schools College and Career Academy, and Thursday’s event was a way of extending a similar introduction to the trade programs for those students who may not have the opportunities afforded to those attending the CCA. Former students were talking with high schoolers about the jobs they now have, thanks to the training they received at GNTC, and what they could get paid if they followed in their footsteps.
Heidi Popham, the executive vice president of GNTC, said industry leaders in Northwest Georgia come to the college and express that there aren’t enough skilled laborers to fill the open positions they have.
Closing this skills gap is a specific focus at GNTC, where students can get a trade certificate or a degree in two years and go directly to work in jobs with approximate yearly earnings of $40,000 to $70,000, without the mountains of debt that accumulates for other students, Carter said. High school students need to have details about the jobs available and what they entail to know how to set themselves up for training, he added, increasing the importance of having them come to these events.
A car show was put on by the auto collision program and the automotive technology program had a dynamometer demonstration to show off the power of a Dodge Challenger engine. Automotive technology students
are currently preparing a 1955 DeSoto Fireflite, which was donated by Patricia and Wayne Vick and was on display Thursday, for the 2018 Great Race. The 2,600-mile endurance race starts in Buffalo, New York, and ends in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and four students — two drivers and two navigators — will be selected to participate, instructor Rodney Parris said.
Students have completely
rewired the car, revamped its interior, and sent the chrome out to be redone. In a couple days it is expected to hit the road for a test run, to determine what tuneups are required to make sure it’s soundly running. Parris said students work on the car after-hours, and he has to run them off because they just don’t want to stop.
A qualifying competition for a national skills competition was held in the electrical lab, for professionals, students and apprentices. Electricians had to pull, cut and strip wire, along with displaying their skills in the categories of termination and testing — they are judged on the speed and accuracy, and those with the best times get a chance at the next-level competition.
GNTC student Ryan Fincher has won gold medals at the national SkillsUSA competition for his welding. Participating in these competitions pushes students go further in their fields and improve on their skills, said Fincher, who wants to open his own welding business.
Fincher encourages high school students to find something they love to do. And if they don’t know what that is, then they shouldn’t be afraid of testing the waters in different trades to discover a passion, he said.