Rapid City, S.D. (KELO) — Over 200 students from 7 High Schools traveled to Rapid City for Trade Field Day at Midwestern Mechanical this week.
From HVAC Fabrication to learning about drone work for a construction site, students were able to get hands-on experience in a variety of trades.
“I think it’s very important for the kids to be able to actually do something with their hands. Instead of listening to a speaker, they’re actually out here doing the work. Learning, making mistakes, which is very important, and it’s more interactive for them. So they can take something home with them, they feel better about what they did today rather than just listen to a speaker,” CWTC President David Wolf said.
“When you’re able to get your hands on things and be able to see what it’s about. And maybe you get your hands on something and you’re like this isn’t really for me, it’s a really big deciding factor for you know, maybe this is something I want to do or something that I’m not really interested in,” Sturgis HS Junior Parker Graveman said.
Each of the 7 stations had experts explaining and guiding the students through their job, providing a small touch of real-world experience.
“You’re able to hear their experiences and what they go through in the day-to-day. You know, what can happen through the jobs. You know you’re not just like, it’s better than just looking at a textbook and reading about it. You know, what you do, you actually get to hear about real-world experiences and real issues that they run into,” Graveman said.
“Our goal is just to get it in front of them. Not every kid wants to go to college or has the ability to. But they can go to a trade, they can do an apprenticeship program and get their school paid for and have a great career at the end of this,” Wolf said.
Today’s field day provided insight on what these students’ futures could look like.
Construction Trades Workforce Connection of the Black Hills is looking to bring in more schools and to bring these trades directly to new students. You can find that information here.
