Thursday, February 12th, we had our 4th annual Vocational and Trade Career Fair, and we had the opportunity to interview recruiters about what their vocational/trade school has to offer. Here is what a few of them had to say:
T-tech:
“I’m Ken Williams. I’m here representing the Toyota T10 program at Atlantic Technical College. What we are about is we are helping train the technicians of the future for Toyota Lexus. What the plan is, we get you in and we train you for the basics. And once we get you ready for basic entry level, we get you into the dealership. You start working, it’s a paid internship and over the 2 years of the program, if you can keep your grades up, then you only have to come to school 2 days a week. The rest of the time you’re out there making money and learning on the job. Yeah, we will teach you everything bumper-to-bumper, so your experience doesn’t matter, if you have the drive and you can show up on time, we can help you learn. And there is a high demand for technicians. On average a good technician is making over $100,000 a year, some are getting close to two. So, if you’re interested in making good money on a challenging but fun career, come check out the T10 program at https://www.t-ten.com/ and look for Atlantic Technical College.” – Ken Williams, recruiter from T-tech table
EMS:
“We are a metal distribution company. We have been around for over 40 years and we have 19 locations throughout the US, with 5 being in Palm Beach County. We’re here today looking for folks that would be interested in an entry level position in a warehouse. We train from the ground up, but we will take somebody with zero experience. You can get forklift certified with us. You can grow into a career. We have lots of room for growth with us, different levels of management that people can grow into and we have an excellent benefit package.” – Recruiter from EMS table
Florida East Coast Electrical JATC:
“I’m with Miller Electric, and I’m representing the Florida East Coast, JATC. This is an electrical apprenticeship program, and we’ll put you to work full time right from the very beginning. So, you’ll be able to work hand in hand with a licensing nutrition from day one. earning money, making around $20 an hour right from the start and getting $1-2K raises per year. Once you top out of this 4 year tuition free apprenticeship program you’ll be on average journeyman or earning over $100,000 a year.” – Recruiter from Florida East Coast Electrical JATC
Palm Beach County 911 Dispatch:
“My name’s Chris Lopez with the Palmer County Sheriff’s Office. I’m a communications officer. Been doing it for approximately 3 to 4 years. We just answer 911 calls, non-emergency calls, and we also dispatch out deputies to wherever the service is needed. We think it’s very important to be out here for the high school kids because it’s important we certify you guys. It’s paid for, all you need is a high school diploma or GED, so it helps you get to that process. You don’t have to go to college and then apply for the sheriff’s office. We pay for you to go through, get certified while you’re also getting paid, so it’s like a job and school all in one. And then you start the job right after that and you get a pay increase as well. It helps out a lot because a lot of people can’t afford to go to college and have a job at the same time. This puts it all in one.”- Chris Lopez, recruiter from Palm Beach County 911 dispatch table
Marine Corps:
“My name is Elias Rivas, I’m a United States One recruiter. One of the best things about the Marine Corps as a whole, is that it’s a unit or organization that challenges people to push past the limits or to get them out of their comfort zone, because that way they can see what potential that they may have that they haven’t been able to account for. One of the great things about the military as a whole, is you have educational opportunities to pay for college tuition, by tuition assistance, or after service with a GI bill of $80,000 for college students. As well, for housing, you get an additional pay for housing. Another great thing about this is that you also get a career path. We have over 350 jobs within the Marine Corps, that colors up from Honda Road, up to logistics, supply, cybersecurity, computer engineering, aviation on the main, the kind of category . Those types of things to help people in a career field, out of service because what I like to say is that the Marine Corps or the military in general is not a set in stone thing that you have to be 24/7 for the rest of your life. Think of it as more of a stepping stone, a combination of how you set that career in that pocket you’re trying to do outside of state. So that’s what the rule has to offer. We also have the NRTC scholarship, if anybody’s interested. It covers up to 4 years of college, for $180,000, and then you get a career right out of that as a 2nd lieutenant Marine Corps for medical and dental service.” – Elias Rivas, recruiter from the Marine Corps table
Palm Beach State College Dental Hygienist:
“Palm Beach State College offers dental hygienist and dental assisting. The dental assisting is 11 months and you should go that pathway if you love and enjoy getting your teeth clean and helping and assisting patients and just making them feel comfortable. But then, when it comes to hygiene, you’re cleaning the patient’s teeth, you’re giving them care, you’re making them feel comfortable, and you want to make sure that they’re at ease once they get their teeth clean. With the dental assistant, you are assisting the physician. It’s a great path. It’s good money. You do have to go to school and get an education in order to do dental hygiene because it has a lot of prerequisites. It’s a good field. If you love helping people and you want to make them feel comfortable and at ease and also while they’re getting their teeth cleaned, this is the best career for you.”- PBSC Dental Hygienist Recruiter from PBSC Dental Hygienist table
