The goal is to one day have a skills center on every high school campus in Clark County.
That goal is one day closer now after a groundbreaking ceremony at Skyview High School on Tuesday.
“This growth is really exciting because it really means that more students are going to have the opportunity to really experience an industry of great potential,” said Katie Siewert, interim director for Career and Technical Education for Vancouver Public Schools.
Siewert noted that this is the third skills center for VPS, all due to private donations. The Endeavor Technical Trade Center at Hudson’s Bay High School is dedicated to construction trades. The Ed Lynch Trade Center at Fort Vancouver, which opened in August, is for the advanced manufacturing program. The Skyview center will include manufacturing and construction.
Careers in Construction, the charitable arm of Quail Homes, has been working for years to get skills centers up and running in schools throughout Clark County. There have been new openings recently in Evergreen Public Schools, La Center, and Ridgefield. Hockinson is close to breaking ground, according to Jon Girod of Quail Homes. Plus plans in the Battle Ground School District, as well.
“To see these kids change and to find things they get engaged with and thrive is really why I’m here,” Girod said.
He and his colleagues in the business have been instrumental in getting donations to build the skills centers on high school campuses.
Rocky Torres-Morales, superintendent of Vancouver Public Schools, also expressed his appreciation during the ceremony.
“Our community needs skilled people. Our businesses need future employees who are prepared to step into these careers. And our students need opportunities to discover what they are good at, learn from people doing this work every day, and build skills that will lead to a greater career,” Torres-Morales said. “When we bring those three things together, everyone benefits.”
Dennis Wubben, owner of Pro Property Services, will manage the construction of the skills center at Skyview.
He told the crowd at the ceremony that of every five people in the trades who are retiring, only three are replacing them.
“There is a huge gap there. What we want to do is fill that gap with an opportunity for these kids to go work in the trades,” Wubben said. “Those are family-wage jobs … we want to make available for these kids.”
This is yet another expansion of the trades industry in Clark County schools. Wubben said eventually he would like to see a skills center on every high school campus in the county.
