Original story aired on KATV.
LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — The times are changing—the traditional college route post-high school is no longer the assured path to success it was once seen as.
Skilled trades may be a better option for many students, and Mills University Studies High School is giving them that alternative. The school now has a new Academy of Advanced Manufacturing and Construction that has really taken off.
The skilled trade taking center stage at the academy is welding. Mills has had a welding program for a couple of years, but it wasn’t until last year—when steel fabrication company Lexicon invested over a hundred thousand dollars in much-needed equipment—that it really came into its own.
“They changed the game. We obviously have brand new facilities, brand new equipment, Millermatics, high dollar equipment,” said Ethan Collins, a Mills senior.
“Without Lexicon, this program would not be here,” said Robert Moseley, Mills’ welding instructor.
Skilled trades in the U.S. are suffering a worsening workforce shortage, with hundreds of thousands of skilled workers retiring with no one to replace them. Lexicon is investing in the academy to provide a more direct pipeline for skilled workers.
“A program like this at Mills is just going to benefit us in the long run, being able to find people,” said Lexicon Welding Instructor Clint Woodard.
And students themselves are seeing that entering the workforce in a skilled trade like welding can be more lucrative than the traditional college route.
“I’ve seen like a lot more girls want to jointhey’re thinking more, ‘oh, I have to do work when I go to college,’ but there’s different routes. So they’re seeing welding as a new route to go,” Mills senior Celeste Wilson told KATV.
And by equipping students with basic certifications like the OSHA Ten, the program is putting students a step ahead of many entry-level applicants in the workforce.
“These kids will have a skill when they do leave high school,” Moseley said, “and they will be able to go into the job market immediately.”
