New partnership aims to spark passion, support for the trades

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has an excellent story in today's paper (August 4) about last week's Builders' Camp and All Hands Boatworks' participation in the Building2Learn Consortium:

Vivica Lewis, 14, likes to work with her hands.

That's why the incoming freshman at Carmen High School jumped at an opportunity to build a boat in Pewaukee last week, as part of a new initiative that leaders hope to expand to more schools — and more trades — starting this fall.

"It's been eye-opening to see all the different careers that you could pursue," Lewis said after a morning spent sanding, pounding and gluing. "We did a virtual welding class the other day."

Lewis was one of about 25 middle and high school students who were gathered at the Southeastern Wisconsin Carpentry Training Center in Waukesha County thanks to Building2Learn, a new consortium aimed at developing trades-based curricula for schools.

The goal is to offer curricula that city and suburban schools can buy into, rather than hosting their own programs. Those involved say they aim to address two divergent trends: More employers in manufacturing and the trades saying they can't find skilled workers, or even trainees with good baseline knowledge, and schools reducing or not offering vocational classes, largely because of the expense.

There's also a sense that many schools with a college prep focus have grown dismissive of vocational training, even though many high school graduates may not be well-suited for a four-year bachelor's program — at least not right away.

Read the rest on JSOnline at the link below: