ELLISTON — Branch and Carilion joined several local businesses to take over Eastern Montgomery High School on Monday, Nov. 6 for the area’s first Career and Technical Education (CTE) Takeover Day.
“While employees have long worked closely with local schools to attend career fairs, recruit apprentices, and showcase career options to classes, students often don’t have time to explore careers in depth and talk to professionals who have made a living in that career,” according to a statement by Branch. “Branch sought a solution to this problem and engaged the local school, which has high participation in their CTE (Careers and Technical Education) program.
“The construction industry is in unprecedented times, with unprecedented opportunities and fewer workers,” said Donald Graul, Branch CEO. “Branch always embraces opportunities like this CTE Takeover Day to dispel common myths about the engineering and construction industry.”
Building the future construction workforce is a top priority for Branch, as 53% of the nation’s skilled workforce is expected to retire by 2035. Branch, along with partners Carter Machinery, E.C. Pace, Trane, and the New River Home Builders Association showcased several construction paths, including Construction Management, Heavy Equipment Operator, Heavy Equipment Mechanic, Construction Technology, GPS Surveying, and the skilled trades of Electrical, Mechanical, Welding, and HVAC.
Since Branch focuses on careers in construction and the skilled trades, they invited Carilion Clinic to engage the students who are interested in a healthcare path. Carilion interacted with students interested in careers in Emergency Management, Respiratory Therapy, Patient Transport, Medical Imaging, and Nursing.
Carilion’s Director of Emergency Management, Craig Bryant, says he is an advocate for early career exploration opportunities and bringing awareness to the variety of careers available in healthcare.
“We look forward to speaking with students and educating them on career paths and opportunities within Carilion,” said Bryant prior to the event. “Our commitment to taking care of patients, keeping our community healthy, and making sure our facilities are safe and operational requires a team approach from multiple career fields.”
“Carilion’s team includes doctors, nurses, engineers, construction trades, police, paramedics, business and safety experts and many more who are dedicated to the community and our patients,” he continued. “In our workplace, we’re devoted to the success of our employees. Some begin their career here in one of our many positions that require no prior experience. Other team members join Carilion as an experienced professional.”
Eastern Montgomery is rounding out the program with alumni and students’ parents in varying careers participating. Those groups provided an opportunity for student engagement in eye health, emergency medicine, surveying, forestry, welding, graphic design, and pet grooming.
“We are excited for the chance to partner with community employers to help our students learn about different career opportunities,” said Assistant Principal Matthew McDaniel. “We focus on making sure students graduate college and career ready. We invite colleges and universities to meet with students to talk with them about those post-secondary paths, but this gives an opportunity for students that would rather go directly into the workforce after graduation to learn about and connect with local employers. We hope this will open their eyes to different career paths that they may be unaware of and learn some of the skills that will be necessary to succeed after they leave EMHS.”
Students chose five to six careers to explore, in lieu of their regular classes. Additionally, all students received guidance in soft skills, professionalism, and information on how to get the education or training they need to pursue one of these careers.
Staff report
