By Stephanie Loder
The Egg Harbor Township School High School plans to highlight National Apprenticeship Week with a special event called “A Day in the Trades” and a ribbon cutting for their Career and Technical Education Lab.
The national weeklong celebration aims to showcase the value of registered apprenticeship in developing a highly skilled workforce to meet industry needs and create pathways for career seekers to obtain good jobs.
During the Nov. 20 event at the high school, industry experts and teachers will showcase demonstrations in construction, electrical, HVAC, manufacturing, plumbing, and welding.
Representatives from the school district’s partner organizations, such as employers, labor unions, workforce professionals, and institutions of higher education, will visit the high school to give hands-on demonstrations in the trades.
Federal, state and local officials have also been invited.
Carmelita Graham, the school’s director of Vocational Education and Career and Technical Education, said a selection of vocational courses is important to high school students so they can try them all and decide what career field suits them best.
“We try to offer them some kind of course that will build their interest and see if they want to get involved with it,” Graham said. “It’s an important piece of the curriculum for students because they can try it and see where it leads.”
For the 2024-2025 school year, the New Jersey Department of Labor awarded Egg Harbor Township School District $551,926 through the PACE Round 2 Grant.
The PACE program provides participating township high school seniors with specialized skills training in the areas of emergency medical technician (EMT), solar panel technician, heating/ventilation/air conditioning (HVAC), patient care technician, manufacturing, and electrical.
The partners for the pre-apprenticeship program are Public Safety Training of South Jersey, Solar States, South Jersey Training and Apprenticeships, and Rowan College of South Jersey.
“What’s unique about us is we understand that even in a comprehensive high school, students need to have options,” Graham said. “Even though we (EHT High School) have so much other programming, why not have trades and not have to look somewhere else for the same training.”
Completing a pre-apprenticeship gives high school students valuable hands-on experience and foundational skills, Graham said.
She said pre-apprenticeships make it easier to pursue career pathways and registered apprenticeships upon graduation.
“That’s what makes our program different from a traditional work-study program. We now have a career and technical education program and we have the opportunity to get certification with the exposure experience,” Graham said.
Graham said one township high school student named Trung Dang became a welder after graduation and works for Holtec.
She said Dang visits the school and talks to students about how learning welding in high school helped him land a high-paying job after graduation.
“He’s one of our success stories,” Graham said.
After the ribbon cutting, guests will also tour the newly renovated CTE Innovation Lab – which offers the space to experience multiple trades – as well as the eSports Gaming and Design Center.
The eSports Gaming and Design Center opened in September.
The center provides space for the high school’s eSports club teams to use state-of-the-art equipment for tournaments and competitions.
It also provides a space for the high school’s eSports Game Design class to build and test games using Unity software.
Stephanie is a freelance writer with 40 years experience covering NJ news for The Asbury Park Press, The Courier Post, The Catholic Star Herald and The Press of AC. Email her at stephanieloder59@hotmail.com
