April 14
April 14, 2009
Charles "Bob" Craver
April 16, 2009
Hundreds of Terrebonne Parish 10th graders attended a two-day Career Awareness Day last week at Terrebonne Vocational and Technical High School in Houma.
The event, sponsored by South Central Industrial Association’s Work It! Louisiana program, was intended to give students information about skilled job opportunities with Tri-parish area industries.
The Work It! Louisiana campaign promotes awareness of technical and industrial careers to high school students.
Weatherford Gemoco, Edison Chouest Offshore, J. Ray McDermott, Volute Inc., and John Deere Thibodaux spread tents on the high school’s campus staffed with personnel who spoke to students about careers with their companies.
Acadian Ambulance technicians showed students a gurney and the inside of the ambulance.
“Tenth graders are still at a point where they don’t know what they want to do with their careers,” said Justin Getzinger, a national recruiter with Edison Chouest. “This is a good opportunity for us to bridge the gap. Many here (at Edison Chouest) are nearing retirement age.”
“This isn’t direct recruiting,” he said. “It’s just an educational day.”
Getzinger asked students whether they knew what they wanted to do after graduation. He said being an electrician and nursing can be lucrative.
“The majority of jobs you learn on the job,” he told the students.
Starting pay for many starts out at $25,000 a year but increases to $50,000, Getzinger said.
Students went from tent to tent in large groups supervised by teachers.
Weatherford personnel set up a laptop computer showing information about the company and touted the new facility being constructed in north Terrebonne.
A John Deere Thibodaux representative asked, “What kind of occupations do we have the most of?”
Students answered “assembly jobs,” but the company also has welding, accounting and engineering careers, he said.
“Sometimes you need a college degree, sometimes a high school degree,” he said. “Top pay is $20 an hour. It’s not easy. It takes hard work.”
Students gained an increased understanding of technical careers.
“I have a better idea of what I want to be,” said Anthony Maiocchi, a sophomore at H.L. Bourgeois High School.
Jake Ledet, another Bourgeois sophomore, said he knew he wanted to be a machinist before attending Career Awareness Day.
Other Bourgeois 10th graders who participated, Glenn Mark and Jaron Myles, expressed interest in welding and auto body work.
“The students are showing enthusiasm,” said Bourgeois head football coach Joe Riley. “Vo Tech tries to do this yearly. It’s bigger than it’s ever been. They split the four (parish high) schools up. Even though a student is not going to college, there are other opportunities in the workforce without going to college.”
Tenth-grade students in Terrebonne Parish were treated to a first-hand look at the job opportunities at a Career Awareness Day fair at the parish’s Vocational and Technical High School in Houma. The program was designed to give students information about career opportunities with Tri-parish area industries. * Photo by MIKE BROSSETTE
