Har-Ber students build experience

NWA Democrat-Gazette/ANTHONY REYES • @NWATONYR Dallas Howell (seated), 17, Har-Ber junior, looks at his certificate for completion of a National Center for Construction Education and Research program with his parents Aimee Gremard and Jeff Howell Thursday, April 9, 2015 at a ceremony for Har-Ber students at the school in Springdale. The students were trained in best practices for safety and procedures and the program offers training in multiple craft areas to help support the job needs of local businesses.
NWA Democrat-Gazette/ANTHONY REYES • @NWATONYR Dallas Howell (seated), 17, Har-Ber junior, looks at his certificate for completion of a National Center for Construction Education and Research program with his parents Aimee Gremard and Jeff Howell Thursday, April 9, 2015 at a ceremony for Har-Ber students at the school in Springdale. The students were trained in best practices for safety and procedures and the program offers training in multiple craft areas to help support the job needs of local businesses.

SPRINGDALE -- How to use a tape measure is one of the first lessons Stowe Hoffius teaches students in the construction management program at Har-Ber High School.

Students don't understand what a sixteenth of an inch is when they arrive, said Hoffius, director of the program at the school. A math problem that gives them a 4-foot by 8-foot sheet of plywood and asks the most efficient way to cut 16-inch by 40-inch pieces from it perplexes them. Industry doesn't want waste, Hoffius said.

On Thursday 40 students were awarded basic certification through the National Center for Construction Education and Research. Several already had cards certifying basic training in Occupational Safety and Health Administration. They can move on to more advanced modules, in carpentry or electrical work, at the school, Hoffius said. The students have an applied understanding of math, Hoffius said. That base and industry recognized certificates will give them an inside track to jobs in a growing industry, he said.

"What we're doing is real," he said.

There is a need for carpenters, electricians and plumbers. Industry expands the traditional view of those roles. Plumbing is taught as mechanical and piping systems. It might not be under a sink, Hoffius said, but assembly of a high pressure line.

"Craftsmen are a thing of the past anymore," said Tony Knight, partner with Professional Air Systems in Springdale.

For almost 40 years he's installed commercial heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, sometimes remodeling a job he'd done years earlier. There's a satisfaction in being able to drive by a building and say "I did that," Knight said.

He supports the Har-Ber program. There is a pyramid of experience, Knight said, but without beginners it falls apart.

"You've got to recruit the youth or you're spinning your wheels," he said.

Knight needs workers who have the basic construction knowledge of how things are put together. With cranes placing large systems atop multi-story buildings, safety is a big concern to him. He values the OSHA cards students can get through the class. When students graduate he is ready to hire, he said.

"I could put on six people this week and not even blink," Knight said.

Knight isn't the only businessman who hopes to hire students out of the Har-Ber program, Hoffius said. One businessman told him Thursday he could take 20 applicants, Hoffius said.

Students said they saw value in the program. Clinton Maddex, a sophomore, got up an hour earlier than his classmates to come from Central Junior High for the class when he was a freshman. If he ever builds his own home, he may be able to do much of the work, he said.

In 2015 all four Springdale junior highs will have a class called "Introduction to Craft Skills" that will give ninth-graders a chance to earn the National Center for Construction Education and Research basic certification.

"We have to fill a need that exists not only in our community but all over the state of Arkansas," said Tamekia Brown, assistant superintendent for secondary education.

Students can specialize in high school. Har-Ber has the construction program and Springdale High School has the architecture and engineering academy.

The idea is to connect student interest to real-world skills through what they learn in class, Brown said. Construction is just one area where the district is trying to fill that need, she said. There are other classes in robotics and information technology at Springdale schools.

Bentonville is looking into starting classes for construction trades, said Paul Stolt, spokesman. The district will launch a pilot IT solutions class this fall. Students will learn computer skills and corporate skills. The class will meet at a local consulting firm. The embedded information technology class is the first of several different career paths being developed in Bentonville, Stolt said.

"It's really becoming more of a national movement to develop workforce skills," he said.

Pea Ridge students are taking college credit and interning in local businesses through the Pea Ridge Manufacturing and Business Academy. Businesses help direct the curriculum, with manufacturing and health care strands, said Rick Neal, superintendent.

The charter school launched in the fall, but this year's seniors have jobs lined up, Neal said. Those jobs and the college credit students bring with them shows a measure of success, Neal said.

"This has built connections between the school and businesses and the students and businesses," Neal said.

The Har-Ber class shows a student has an interest, a skill set and a commitment to the ongoing education, said Travis Keller, human resources director for Kimbel Mechanical Systems. Even if they don't want to certify as an electrician or in heating and air systems, basic skills are at least a good fall-back plan.

"I can't put somebody in a warehouse and have them pull a bunch of parts if they don't understand what they are," he said.

Cooper Clark, a junior at Har-Ber, said he plans to become an architect and join the Air Force after the class.

Wade Lawson, a senior at Har-Ber, said he plan to go to Pittsburg State University for a degree in construction management. He helped build a wall in a coach's office with what he'd learned.

A year and a half ago Wade did not know what he wanted to do after high school, said his father, Mark Lawson. Wade knew he was good working with his hands, but the class took a general interest and channeled it into a career.

"It gave him a path," Mark Lawson said.

Amye Buckley can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAAmye.

NW News on 04/13/2015

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