Sixty-two students from Bayfield, Dolores, Durango, Ignacio and Pagosa Springs high schools are involved in SkillsUSA, said Shaun Smith, a construction trades teacher at Durango High School and SkillsUSA Region 8 adviser.<\/p>\n
SkillsUSA serves students and teachers who are preparing for or teaching students for a career in the trades, technical-skill occupations and skilled-service jobs, such as drafting. The program develops ties with private industry to offer internships and other training opportunities in a real-world environment.<\/p>\n
Beyond improving trade and technical skills, the program aims to improve students\u2019 personal skills by improving their work ethics, speaking skills, planning and organizational skills and team-building skills.<\/p>\n
Smith, who is one of five finalists for the national SkillsUSA Adviser of the Year award, said Region 8 has been growing, and one key has been developing partnerships with industry to offer kids opportunities.<\/p>\n
Ties with local contractors and the Homebuilders Association of Southwest Colorado has been integral to improving the program in Southwest Colorado and to spark interest among students in a trades career, Smith said.<\/p>\n
DHS students are building a tiny house with the assistance of the local homebuilders association, and along the way, they can get certified for plumbing, electrical, carpentry and dry-wall trades.<\/p>\n
Another attraction to the trades, Smith said, is the looming shortage in skilled trades employees as the baby boomer generation retires.<\/p>\n
Smith said the nation is facing a shortage of 2 million skilled trades workers in the construction field, and students involved in SkillsUSA are well-aware of the opportunities a career in the trades offers.<\/p>\n
Allison Fender, 14, a freshman at Bayfield High School, took her first woodshop class in eighth grade and \u201cabsolutely loved it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Fender is examining a career in either nursing or carpentry. She said she has discovered \u2013 through her woodworking \u2013 that whatever career she pursues it will be something involving work with her hands.<\/p>\n
Claire Hufnagel, 16, a sophomore at Bayfield High School, said she got into woodworking through her father.<\/p>\n
\u201cI watched him build things, and I wanted to try it, too,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Until Fender joined woodworking classes at Bayfield High, Hufnagel said she had never taken a woodworking class with another girl.<\/p>\n
Diego Valencia, 16, a sophomore at Ignacio High School, took advanced woodworking after falling in love with the shop while a freshman.<\/p>\n Valencia, a baseball player, said he\u2019s happy with the bat he made in woodworking.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s functional. I can really use it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n