Local high school, plant joining forces on work study program

RED OAK — A work-study program has returned to Red Oak High School, giving students a leg up in certain career paths.

Two high school seniors, Dakota Petty and Jacob Berkey, are working at Red Oak Manufacturing, receiving three high school credits, compensation for their part-time work and hands on experience in the field of welding. 

According to principal Jedd Sherman, the high school had a work-study program in the past, but the teacher coordinating the program left at the end of the 2009-10 school year and the program, which only had a few students, died out.   

Now, Sherman said they have hired a new teacher with the required Multi-Occupations Course certification needed for a work-study program, and they are working to establish more training stations to expand and improve the program. 

The Department of Education outlines 16 career clusters, ranging from manufacturing and agriculture to finance and healthcare. 

For the time being, Red Oak  Manufacturing is the only established station, although Sherman is in the process of creating a financial training station. To do so, a business must go through a checklist to ensure it is safe and clean and there is appropriate workman’s compensation insurance in place, should a student get injured on the job.  

Ideally, he said they would have 16 businesses, one for each cluster, with available programs for high school seniors. 

“Interest is growing with the students,” Sherman said. “At this point, everyone seems quite happy, and once kids are happy with the program, they talk to other kids.” 

Sherman added work-study also acts as an at-risk program for students, enticing them to complete high school. 

“So I can say to a student, ‘Look, if you can just tough out your junior year, I have this training station for you and you can get paid during the school day to earn credit,” he said.

While training stations are not required to compensate the student workers, Sherman said it is an option that could motivate a student. 

The students are not automatically accepted in a work-study program, though, according to Red Oak Manufacturing plant manager Kenny Porter. 

Porter said the two students currently working there had to fill out an application and go through an interview process and a drug test like any other potential employee. 

“It helps them know what the process will be like when they do get into the real world,” he said. “They’ve done really well. They listen and pick up on things.” 

The two students at Red Oak Manufacturing have previously taken welding classes, which Porter said means they didn’t require any more training than any other employee.

After high school, Sherman said students in work-study programs will likely go on to some form of post-secondary education in their chosen career path, and their work-study experience will only benefit them along the way. 

According to Sherman, there is a shortage of workers in fields that require a mid-level of training or education, like welding or electrical. 

“Our goal with this is to produce a high school graduate who is ready for those jobs,” he said. 

As part of Manufacturing Week in Iowa, Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds visited Red Oak Manufacturing Wednesday, and the work-study program was a topic of discussion. 

“I was very impressed with the students working here and the cooperation that is in place with the school,” Branstad said. “I encourage more young people to take these types of classes to enhance their skills that will ultimately benefit them in the job force.”