Quite a Career Day for Mayo

By JASON ELLIOTT

Staff writer

First impressions are important, no matter what age you are.

From an adult looking for a job to a high school senior seeking a direction to go after the graduation balloons hit the gymnasium floor.

In the case of Lakeland High senior Garrett Mayo, his first impression led to not only his next step after high school, but a full-fledged career.

On March 7, Lakeland held a Career Day at the school, with 17 different speakers in various classrooms and 15 different businesses in the school’s gymnasium to meet and greet students.

Mayo’s impression on Sawyer Plumbing in Rathdrum was something special, landing an apprenticeship with the company to train to be a plumber.

“Garrett wrote a really nice report on why he’d like to become a plumber,” said Travis Sawyer, owner of Sawyer Plumbing. “He really stood out to us and came by the shop a few times.”

“I’m more interested in working with my hands,” Mayo said. “And I thought that going into a trade career was a good way to go. We’ve got a family friend that’s going to school to be a plumber, and he mentioned the pay and benefits. All of it just sounded really interesting to me. I’ve done a little bit of work like this before, and I really enjoyed it.”

Sawyer Plumbing will cover his first year of schooling, and if he chooses to continue in the program, they’ll take care of the rest.

“As long as he wants to do it,” Sawyer said. “We’ll take care of him. He’ll be working 40 hours a week. We’re really lucky to have him.”

Michelle Stanford, a first-year English teacher, was hired at Lakeland High in the fall and served as the Career Day coordinator.

“We had around 17 different guest speakers that came and spoke to the kids,” Stanford said. “There’s a huge need for plumbers in this area and the folks at Sawyer Plumbing were trying to figure out a way to promote that and get some kids interested in it.”

Stanford added, especially in the technical line of work, many other businesses are still searching for qualified help.

During career day, Sawyer Plumbing announced it was seeking a paid-apprenticeship, where the qualified candidate will receive on-the-job training and experience in the field.

“For me, this is above and beyond what they could have done,” Stanford said. “It’s definitely something that’s an extra bonus to career day. It really exposes kids to a non-college option. Now, having it where he can get paid for it, and learn about it is an added bonus.”

Mayo added his plans beforehand were to enlist in the armed forces to find a trade he could build a career on.

“My plans were to go into the Air Force,” Mayo said. “I just wanted to get into a trade in there, and then carry it once I got outside of it. My thought had been if I could find something local that was worth my time, then I’d drop that thinking. This company did that and I’m going to give it a shot.”

Sawyer Plumbing will pick up the first year of Mayo’s schooling, as well as any additional years he remains in the program.

“It’s a four-year program, with classes usually every other weekend,” Sawyer said. “And you’ve got 4,000 hours of on-the-job training and that’s all there is for training.”

A journeyman plumber can make anywhere from $25 to $30 an hour.

“They’ve got full benefits as well,” Sawyer said. “There’s a pretty big shortage of plumbers in this area. I think it’s just been since 2008, but with the economy slowing down, some just aren’t getting into the construction trades.”

For Mayo, it was something that he was not only interested in, but wanted.

“I never once considered the possibility of it really,” Mayo said. “I just went for something that I really wanted. And I figured, maybe good things would come my way if I did that.”

How correct Mayo was.

“I think I found a company that respects its employees and treats them fairly,” Mayo said. “And I thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing.”

“In the future, I’m definitely hoping there could be something set up where they could submit resumes,” Stanford said. “Silverwood said they’d hire them if they met the age requirements this summer. I never thought I’d have it geared to seniors that didn’t want to go to college.”