Loading...There has never been more of a need for skilled people in the trades. The NECA/IBEW Powering America team knows recruitment and exposure to the trades has to start when people are even younger, sometimes as early as ninth or tenth grade, in order to satisfy the demands of tomorrow.
A new curriculum, Interim Credentials, allows students to gain exposure to electrical construction while in high school, as a way to learn and have some fun too.
This five-week, five-course online program takes high school students through orientation, DC Theory, blueprints, codes and safety, and job information – but it doesn’t look or sound like your standard book based curriculum. And because high school students can be a tough crowd to engage the creators of the Interim Credentials program knew just how to peak their interest: Gamification.
Walking by you might think these kids are playing video games because the online classes aren’t like anything you’ve seen before. It’s technology properly applied at its best.
Bill Ball, Director, Electrical Training Alliance, said, “We do see a lot of folks come through the program and realize it’s different than they thought. At a high school, if they spend time to go through five courses, this Interim Credentials, they’re already proving they like what they’re getting into.”
The Interim Credentials program has started in ten different high schools in just the first year, with 190 students. Students can drive or bus to a JATC or tech school and get high school credit while working towards their apprenticeship.
Ian McColl, Junior, New Tech High School, “With reading a book it can get boring. With Interim Credentials, you feel more involved. It keeps you on your toes.”
For the five courses, students only pay $285. The reason this is possible is thanks to the NECA/IBEW Powering America team’s dedication to training. With the first set of students who went through the program about to graduate, we’re only just at the cusp of what’s to come.