Businesses look to bring more young people into trade work at Campbell County Technical Center Career Day
RUSTBURG, Va. (WDBJ) - Thursday, the Campbell County Technical Center hosted its 14th annual College and Career Day event. Over 80 businesses attended the event to meet with students and address the need to bring more young people into trade industries.
“Now is a really great time for students to be getting into the trades. We have so many employers like Brown’s Heating and Air and others that work in the trades that are eager to hire students right out of high school and train them for the careers that they offer. These are good high-paying careers that students can enter into with limited training,” said Tim Saunders, Deputy Director of the Central Virginia Workforce Development Board with Virginia Career Works. “Businesses are willing to train right now. They are willing to bring students in right out of high school and train them to know what they need to know to do these jobs.”
Businesses say it’s getting harder to find skilled trade workers as the workforce ages out, which is why hiring young people is so important.
“We need it bad. We need workers. The average age in the trade industry now is 58, so it’s very important for us to get local kids, train them, help educate them, and learn that it’s a very good job and a career,” said Brandon Brown, owner of Brown’s Heating Air & Plumbing. “It’s getting harder to find trained heating, air, plumbing, electrical technicians anywhere. So it’s very important that we get them young, out of school. We can teach them, we can grow them, and they can move up fast in companies.”
Brown has operated his business since 2006 and was a graduate of Rustburg High School who attended the Campbell County Technical Center. He said there will always be a need for trade workers.
“We’ll always need heating, air, plumbing, and electrical. AI is definitely improving in the country but it’s never going to get in your attic or crawl space and fix your unit or a water leak. So it’s very demanding right now in the career fields of all trades,” said Brown.
Brown said his company offers a part-time apprenticeship program to students and he talked with many interested students Thursday.
“We’re having a ton of kids, boys, and girls, that are interested in trades. That’s awesome to see. This isn’t just a male-led industry; females can do it as well, we put them out and train them as well. So it’s very good to see the kids stop by the table,” he said.
The Campbell County Technical Center helps prepare students for careers across various fields. Grayson Lynn is a student at the Technical Center who plans to attend lineman school after graduating in the spring. He said the technical center has set him up for future success.
“I’ve been doing the electric program at the tech center here. I plan on going into electrical, I’ve been working for Southern Air since last June. The workplace experience has been great, and learning here is amazing,” said Lynn, a senior at Brookeville High School.
Lynn said it was great for students to get to meet with companies Thursday.
“Every company needs somebody. Machinists, they need a lot of people, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, they all need everybody,” he said.
Around 800 Campbell County students attended the job fair and got to meet with a variety of companies like Framatome, an international nuclear energy company with its U.S. headquarters in Lynchburg.
“A big part of our program is we’re trying to let the community know that you can stay local and have a meaningful career. So it’s huge, we have a huge workforce, and we’re hiring massively right now in all areas,” said Andrea Ponce, Framatome Nuclear Technology Academy Program Manager.
Ponce said Framatome wants to recruit more graduates from Campbell County to join its Nuclear Technology Academy.
“We are providing a service that doesn’t necessarily need a four-year degree. So we’re training these technicians in the nuclear space they’re getting their associate’s degree in nuclear technology, but we are training them. They’re apprentices when they’re in the program, and they’re learning a trade,” she said.
Virginia Career Works said previous career day events at the technical center have been a big success and said Campbell County has been ahead of the curve when it comes to preparing students for careers in the technical workforce.
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