Hands-on their future

RATHDRUM - There's something irresistible about knocking a few hours off a routine school day and using that time to learn how to climb a utility pole, operate heavy equipment, use a brad nailer or try your hand at welding.

Hard Hats, Hammers and Hot Dogs, an event held Wednesday at KTEC (Kootenai Technical Education Campus), offered these possibilities and more to the 600 North Idaho students who signed up for the hands-on field trip. KTEC, the new professional technical high school on the Rathdrum Prairie, gamely showed off its own classrooms and shops, as well as exhibits and demonstrations from local manufacturers and employers.

According to KTEC director Mark Cotner, "I want these kids to climb on a piece of equipment and actually operate it so they find out what they can do. I want to hear them say, 'Man, I really like this.' Hard Hats, Hammers and Hot Dogs is the brainchild of our community and its purpose is to catch kids early on and make them aware of job opportunities in our own area."

Or, as Vicki Isakson of the Idaho Department of Labor said, "It's important to expose kids to non-traditional career ideas so we can fill the jobs of the future."

Sponsors of Hard Hats, Hammers and Hot Dogs hoped to attract open-minded students to well-paying careers - students like KTEC's Katie Hoyt.

"I started here thinking I wanted to raise bucking bulls and horses for a living. Since that meant being around heavy equipment, it made sense for me to get into the diesel program. But then KTEC changed my life completely by introducing me to welding," Hoyt said.

One thing led to another and Hoyt is now considering a career as a welder.

To hear student Savannah Lear of Post Falls tell it, operating Bay Shore Systems' LoDril excavator Wednesday was the thrill of a lifetime. "You work it like a video game. It even has two joysticks with triggers and a foot control. I couldn't believe how incredibly easy it was to use."

But has this opened her eyes to a potential future as a heavy equipment operator? Not yet, at least. Lear said so far she's sticking to her original goal of automotive technology.

Wallace High School student and first-time welder Nick Davis was definitely curious when he ducked under the hood to try some stick welding. After receiving safety instructions from KTEC student Tyler Slater and putting on a pair of heavy work gloves, Davis entered the world of sparks, arcs and bright lights. "It looked like I was melting stuff," he said. "And, oh yeah, this will help me work on my bike better."

Behind the fun, laughter and excitement of the day, though, was the driving goal of letting students know there are good jobs and good pay close to home. Larry Nostrant, a construction instructor at KTEC, has previously worked in the industry for almost half a century. "I see a great challenge ahead of us if we don't get kids trained in the trades. Right now we have an aging industry that needs more skilled workers."

And Brady Hansen, temporary line school instructor and journeyman lineman for Avista Utilities, agrees. "It's projected that nationally in our work we'll lose half our workforce in the next 10 years. We need people with good math aptitude who like to work outside as part of a team and are willing to work overtime."

For students concerned with the cold, hard reality of earning a living, there was a handout sheet - along with the free hot dogs - listing wages for three dozen job categories.