Sponsored by East Baton Rouge Parish Schools
It’s no surprise that men are represented in significantly greater numbers than women in engineering, manufacturing jobs and certain “blue collar” industries. Creating more opportunities for women in these fields means expanding access, support and encouragement for women to pursue them. The best way to do that is by supporting Career and Technical Education (CTE) training opportunities as a viable alternative pathway for women.
CTE prepares students for jobs that are based on manual or practical activities, customarily non-academic and specifically related to a precise trade, occupation or vocation. East Baton Rouge Career and Technical Education Center (CTEC) provides high school students with access to high-demand, high-paying jobs in the Capital Region by providing rigorous, project-based instruction and dual enrollment credit toward an associate degree while in high school.
Kaylie Smith is a student at Glen Oaks High School who has been studying electrical engineering at school thanks to the EBR CTEC program. When Kaylie’s teacher told her about an opportunity for a paid internship at ExxonMobil this summer, Kaylie immediately applied. “When I first started taking classes, there were more girls in them,” she says. “But as the program went on, they started to leave. I ended up being the only girl to make it through and I was selected to be one of six interns at ExxonMobil.” Kaylie is pursuing a mechanical engineering path now and is excited to get back to class this fall and share what she has learned. She encourages other girls interested in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) programs to take more classes and apply for opportunities like ExxonMobil’s internship.
Glen Oaks High School offers an extensive CTEC curriculum:
— Automotive Service
— Business Management
— Certified Nurse Assistant
— Emergency Medical Technician
— Hospitality, Tourism, Culinary & Retail
— Manufacturing, Construction Crafts & Logistics
— MicroEnterprise
— Public Service
— STEM
— Welder
— Welder Helper
— Workplace Safety
EBR CTEC offers a specialized training program for junior and senior high school students. Its innovative schedule enables students to spend half of their day at their home schools earning core credits and participating in sports, clubs, and music. The second half of their day is spent on the CTEC campus. CTEC’s state-of-the-art building allows for hands-on practical training in manufacturing, computer science, construction crafts, and the medical fields.
Zariel Woods attends Broadmoor High School and originally explored medical options in the CTEC program until her internship. “I got to work with the Analyzer group at ExxonMobil,” Zariel says. “They analyzed and monitored gauges for everything in the refinery and I realized … there are so many different jobs in this industry! Now I want to shift to more engineering classes.” All six interns in the program were grateful for the chance to see and apply what they learn in class. “You can only learn so much from a book,” Zariel says. “Opportunities like this internship show us how many different career paths there are when you have a STEM foundation.”
Broadmoor High School offers students a rich CTEC selection:
— Agriculture Technology
— Business Management
— Carpenter
— Carpenter Helper
— Hospitality, Tourism, Culinary & Retail
— Manufacturing, Construction Crafts & Logistics
— MicroEnterprise
— ProStart
— Public Service
— STEM
— Workplace Safety
At no financial cost, each program provides opportunities for students to earn industry-based certificates and provide either dual enrollment or articulated credits toward associate degrees at BRCC. Based on the career, some classes are also transferable to four-year universities. Upon completion, those students who earn industry-based certificates can move directly into the workforce. Student organizations include Health Occupations Students of America (designed to promote career opportunities in the healthcare industry) and Skills USA (a career and technical student organization). Specific trades offered at CTEC include carpentry, electrical, HVAC, networking, EMT, pre-LPN, and cybersecurity.
Seats are still open for the Fall. To learn more about
