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March 5, 2024
APPLETON — Appleton West High School (AWHS) was a busy place late last month — hosting more than 1,300 sixth through 12th-grade students and 40 companies represented for its first-ever trade career fair.
The aim of the event, Paul Endter, lead teacher at the Appleton Technical Academy (ATA) — a district charter school that focuses on developing the skills necessary for entry into the manufacturing workforce — said was to “give kids a jumpstart on manufacturing and construction careers.”
“Tech ed programs need more kids and more traction,” he said. “When I started here — I’ve been at (Appleton) West for 27 years — we had about a dozen tech ed teachers in the building, but now we’re down to four. That’s not a result of people retiring and people leaving, it’s mainly because the state has increased graduation requirements (in core subject curriculum).”
Not to take away from the increased graduation requirements, Endter said “he gets it.”
“There is more math, English, science — there’s nothing wrong with that- I’m an English and history teacher by trade, so I understand,” he said. “But what has fallen by the wayside? It’s the electives and opportunities for kids during their day. We have to do events like this to raise awareness and get kids excited about career pathways they might not necessarily be exposed to in a regular educational setting. They also don’t know a lot of these places (at the fair) even exist.”
Another factor, Endter said, is that there aren’t as many people going into education right now.
“Local tech colleges like Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC) have a fast-track teacher program,” he said. “But in general, for one reason or another, we aren’t seeing the number of teachers we saw years ago.”
Hearing from an employer
With dozens of employers in attendance, the AWHS Trade Career Fair provided an opportunity for them to raise awareness of their businesses and industries, as well as possibly recruit students.
One such employer, Miron Construction, attended to potentially address the workforce shortage many industries are experiencing.
“Miron was here today because there is a shortage of trade workers who want a career in construction,” Barry Scholz, director of labor relations, said. “They come to us and say, ‘I want to be a welder, a construction worker, etc. but I don’t know the different levels of construction Miron deals with.’ Fifteen (different) trades build a building, and we employ seven of those (sectors). We’re always looking for good people.”
In his role with Miron, Scholz said he goes out into the industry and works with youth and youth apprentices and also does workforce development in the trades.
“We work with the unions and labor partners and say, ‘you earn as you learn while you go to school in youth apprenticeships,'” he said. “There’s no out-of-pocket for tuition, and kids do most of their field hours working on the job and learning from mentors.”
Scholz, who has more than 30 years of experience in the construction field, said anytime there is an economic downturn, you lose lots of people to retirement.
“That attrition rate is what you have to focus on long term,” he said. “We have to start relying on the younger people who want to come into the industry and show them this is a career not just a job.”
A representative from IVI, a construction company based in Greenville, shows a student how to bend sheet metal. Rich Palzewic Photo
During boom times, Scholz said out-of-town workers are relied on to come to Wisconsin — something he said he’d like to see change, but that includes keeping homegrown talent in the state.
“We like our Wisconsin work ethic and know we can train the best,” he said. “We like places like Appleton West and the Appleton Technical Academy that teach students to work with their hands. If we teach students young and teach them a trade, then they’ll follow our lead.”
Other factors
Endter said there are several factors that contribute to the increased need of trade workers, one of them being a lack of awareness.
“According to New North, Inc.’s 2023 annual report, the most anticipated highest area of growth and need for workers is construction, while manufacturing is No. 2,” he said. “What have we told our students — go to college. The people who have been in the trades have been banging the drum as loud as they can for a long time — the route to being successful for many is through the trades.”
New North is a nonprofit, regional marketing and economic development corporation fostering collaboration among private and public sector leaders throughout the 18 counties of Northeast Wisconsin, known as the New North region.
Endter said Northeast Wisconsin is known for its manufacturing and construction jobs — perhaps the highest concentration of those sectors in the Midwest, or even the country.
“According to the NEW Manufacturing Alliance, its data shows, in manufacturing alone, 23% of the jobs in our entire state are in manufacturing,” he said. “If you look at our Northeast Wisconsin sector, that number jumps to about 50%.”
Manufacturing jobs today compared to yesteryear, Endter said, are much different — however the stereotype remains — which can deter some from entering the trades.
“People talk about the three Ds — dark, dirty, dungeon — when it comes to manufacturing,” he said. “It’s about getting kids into these facilities. Sure, there might be a few dirty places, but the majority of these companies are modern. If you go to Plexus (in Neenah), it’s all humidity-controlled and clean — you could eat off their floors. It’s a great time to be a high school student right now looking for a career.”
Appleton Technical Academy
Housed in AWHS, ATA started in 2014 to give students that jumpstart Endter was referring to.
“Kids start as early as the ninth grade and then continue through the rest of high school,” he said. “They graduate with the same number of credits any other student in the district does — 23. Our kids have opportunities to engage in one of four emphasis areas: welding, machining, mechanical design and automation.”
The skills students obtain at ATA, Endter said, gives them a heads start to a potential future in a variety of industries.
“Kids take dual-credit classes offered by our instructors here, which means they can get credit at our local technical college (FVT),” he said. “Many of these students will leave (the academy) with an industry-recognized certification.”
Endter said ATA also has a house construction program for the district.
“We have a teacher who teaches an introduction to house construction,” he said. “Students from the three Appleton high schools — East, North and West — work with Habitat for Humanity to build a house.”
For more information on ATA, visit atech.aasd.k12.wi.us.
A student’s perspective
Caleb Marshall, a current ATA student, said he joined the academy as a junior.
“I wanted to (start) earlier, but it didn’t work out,” he said. “It’s okay, I joined this year because that’s when you start getting vigorously into the trades.”
Marshall said his interest in the charter school was sparked from a single welding class.
Students could make their own sheet metal toolbox at the trade career fair. Rich Palzewic Photo
“I found I enjoyed it,” he said. “I also think I have a skill for it and heard I could have a good career welding. I’ve already started a career through the UA Local 400 (Plumbers & Steamfitters in Kaukauna). I go to UA 400 every day after school, five days a week for about four hours. ATA got me through that. I also get paid for doing it.”
Marshall said he has a simple message for students considering the trades.
“Give it a shot,” he said. “Take classes you might be interested in — you have nothing to lose.”
A teacher perspective
Carrie Giauque, a tech ed teacher at the academy, said she was not a successful high school student but eventually “figured it out.”
“I took the long road to college — I was a historic preservationist before becoming a teacher,” she said. “I had my own business, but I found it hard to operate because we moved multiple times. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I was substitute teaching and liked it, so I decided to become a full-time teacher.”
Giauque, who said she and her husband have lived in seven states and two countries, came to the Appleton area eight years ago because of her husband’s job.
“I initially wanted to be a social studies teacher,” she said. “But when they saw my background, they said, ‘oh, no, no, no — you need to be tech ed, especially a female in tech ed.'”
Giauque said her trade knowledge began during her high school years.
“My automotive knowledge comes from when I was in high school, and when I was in college, I learned some advanced construction techniques — the basic construction techniques I learned from my grandpa – he owned a contracting company I worked for,” she said.
Giauque said ATA provides interested students with an opportunity to be involved in manufacturing trades at a young age.
“We tend to be a draw for students who want to go straight into the workforce or to a technical college after,” she said. “Even our math classes are geared toward the trades. For example, if you take geometry, you figure out the geometry of rafters, etc. You’re learning the same skills, but because you’re seeing it differently, the kids learn how to apply it.”
Having lived in many places, Giauque said “Northeast Wisconsin is king when it comes to manufacturing/construction jobs.”
Appleton West High School hosted a trade career fair event late last month. Forty local companies were on hand to give area sixth through 12th-grade students hands-on experience in the trades. Rich Palzewic Photo
“Being a historian, I don’t think it’s any different than years ago — we’ve always needed trade workers in great numbers,” she said. “These are jobs that when growth occurs in an economy, who’s going to build the buildings, who will design it, who’s going to put in the pipes or do the welding? These jobs have not changed. We realize you don’t need to push every kid toward a four-year university job — it’s what works for each individual. Stuff will always have to be built and fixed.”
A success
Endter said AWHS’s first-ever trade career fair was deemed a success and said it’s likely the event will be held again next year.
“For our first construction trades expo, I was overwhelmed with the support from the trades and contractors willing to attend the event,” he said. “I was also floored by the number of students who attended. We had 1,300 students from grades 6-12 participate and had students from our various middle schools in the district and the three high schools.”
Endter said the feedback was positive.
“They enjoyed the setup, gained valuable information about the construction trades from the interaction with those adult professionals present and students enjoyed the ability to engage in hands-on activities and learn about possible career opportunities in the construction trades.”
