Gov. Mike DeWine visits Buckeye Career Center in New Philadelphia

NEW PHILADELPHIA ‒ Gov. Mike DeWine visited Buckeye Career Center on Monday, where he spoke with enthusiastic students like senior Grayden Nance, who is among those building a house on nearby Brookside Drive.

"I love construction," Nance said. "I've loved it since I was about 5. I saw guys working out on houses on rooftops and said, 'Wow, I want to do that when I'm older.'"

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Construction technology instructor Terry Thompson, now in his 23rd year teaching, said plenty of jobs are available for graduates.

"We get calls every day for jobs," he said. "They'll take them as quick as they can graduate."

Thompson said some of his students already have jobs waiting for them when they finish school. One plans to study construction management in college. Some go to union hiring halls to get connected to employers.

DeWine heard the same thing from electrical systems technology instructor Jeremy Burdick, utility lineworker instructor James Pimpas and masonry instructor Ryan Irwin.

In the basement of the house on Brookside, where students installed wiring, Burdick said his graduates can work in a variety of settings, from one-man shops to large contractors.

Burdick, a former contractor and business owner, told DeWine that his father was a vocational education teacher who let him know that if he got a haircut, that was a former student, and if someone came to work on the furnace, that was a former student.

"I knew the value of vocational education for quite a long time," said Burdick, who said some of his students will go on to study electrical engineering in college.

Irwin said there are more job offers than he has students in masonry work that can pay from $15 to $32 an hour, depending on experience.

"It's like a labor shortage, 100%," he told DeWine.

At the utility lineworker lab, Pimpas said his students may have to spend an additional five years training with a power company following graduation to become qualified to lead a repair crew. But that may be one year less than unschooled rookies, he said.

The governor watched students work 60 feet above the ground on poles, where they were expected to install a transformer.

"We'll build this just like it was a regular power line outside," Pimpas said.

He said students will also be trained to stay safe in hazardous settings, such as restoring electrical service during ice storms. His program has enrolled eight female students, including three who are also training in natural resources at Buckeye.

He said students have done some fun projects, such as installing a Christmas display.

They will occasionally toss around a football or basketball while up on poles. Pimpas said it helps them become comfortable.

"I love it and I think these guys do," Pimpas said of his students. "It's the ultimate teamwork job."

After touring Buckeye's hands-on learning sites, DeWine had a roundtable discussion with local leaders from business, education and government in the school's Joe Carlisle Cafe.

DeWine said the vocational education offered at schools like Buckeye can help young people find work they are passionate about and love to do, while fulfilling unmet needs for skilled labor. He expressed concern about students who graduate high school without a career pathway.

Mike Hovan, chief operating officer of Lauren International, said Tuscarawas County has hundreds of kids like that, those who do not have the means or interest to go to college and fall through the cracks. He asked the governor what the state can do to connect more high school students to local businesses and training programs.

"That is a question," DeWine said. "There's no way for them to know all the different businesses that exist, opportunities, things that are out there that they might like to do."

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Michael Haberman, executive vice president of industrial equipment for the Alamo Group, which owns Gradall, said the excavator manufacturer has employees who represent the fourth generation in their families to work at the local factory. He said the company has moved two more product lines into the New Philadelphia facility because of the relationship with Buckeye.

"I'm not a big fan of college debt," Haberman said.

He said he is a big fan of Buckeye. He said the school's programs can be valuable for adults who have lost their way.

Reach Nancy at 330-364-8402 or [email protected].

On Twitter: @nmolnarTR