Willis High School senior Shelly Robinson has spent her whole young life taking care of others. She tends to the needs of her wheelchair-bound mother and sick relatives. And as a nanny she cares for three girls aged six to nine. Her participation in a Lone Star College-Montgomery pilot program this year is helping to turn Robinson’s inclination to care into a career.

Robinson’s WHS classmate Jorge Hernandez works three jobs in addition to being a graduating senior. He had no idea what a CNC machine was, but his experience with one in the same LSC-Montgomery program will likely put him through college.

Robinson and Hernandez were among the first participants in the LSC-Montgomery Willis ISD joint program that offers free workforce training in a variety of technical areas to high school students, giving them an opportunity to have a great career with excellent pay.

The program--funded by LSC-Montgomery, Willis ISD and government Career and Technology Education funds--provides WHS students free training to obtain a Workforce Skills Award certificate in one (or more) of four specific areas: welding, machining, phlebotomy, and HVACR (heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration), said Linda Head, LSC-Montgomery dean of academic and workforce support. Students are bused to the Lone Star College-Conroe Center to receive training for two hours a day during regular school days and concurrently receive high school credit.

“Much like the dual credit program gives a head start to high school students who are definitely planning to attend college, this workforce skills program offers these students a head start on their careers by providing them training for increasingly popular and well-paying careers,” said Head. “The old trade programs are the new technology careers. The companies hiring in these areas are using advanced manufacturing and technology to design and create their products. The stigma these careers had in the past is disappearing as the need for workers, the salaries being paid and the benefits being offered by employers increase.”

The program has also been an effort to introduce these students to the college experience, which may result in them continuing their education further, said Head.

Which has definitely been the case for both Robinson and Hernandez.

Robinson--who received training in two areas: phlebotomy and certified nurse aide--said she hopes to work as a phlebotomist (the person who draws blood in hospitals and other medical settings) for a year until she can go back to school to become a registered nurse.

“I want to be a nurse because I know they make a difference in peoples’ lives,” said Robinson, who herself has been sidelined recently with an injured back resulting from a car accident. “Caring for my mother and the other sick members in my family has shown me that there is a need for compassionate people in the medical field. It takes a special person to help others and I want to continue doing that forever because I can make someone feel better, happier.”

The fact that the training was free was the selling point for Robinson.

“It’s unbelievable that I received training for two workforce skills awards for almost nothing,” she said. “The only thing I had to pay for was my nursing shoes.”

Which was quite a bargain, said Head. Had Robinson paid for the Workforce Skills Award training for phlebotomy and certified nurse aide from LSC-Montgomery, the programs would have cost at least $728 and $325, respectively. Training for the welding program costs approximately $2,300 for paying students and can yield $13 an hour upon entry into the field and up to $28 an hour. The machining training costs approximately $1,000 and those starting out in the industry can expect to make $15 an hour and earn up to $32 an hour as they advance in the field, said Head.

“It’s a sound investment for paying customers, but it’s an incredible opportunity for these high school students in particular,” she said.

Hernandez said he joined the program due to the free training, but mainly to be able to get a good job to pay for college.

“I picked the machining program because I like the computers and machines involved, but also because I know that machinists can make a good living, especially with companies like Halliburton and Hughes Christensen,” said Hernandez. “Of course I had absolutely no idea what a CNC machine even was when I started the program, but the progress I made from start to finish was amazing to me.”

Hernandez said the LSC-Montgomery instructors “bent over backwards” to help the students and have even arranged for a job fair for students in a few weeks.

“It has been a really good opportunity for us,” he said. “For someone like me who works three jobs right now while I’m in high school--to be able to get training for a well-paying career is a great gift.”

WHS associate principal Bill Chapman said the most positive part of the program that he has witnessed has been the immediate impact it has had on students’ lives.

“They came back from the machining classes using the same math they were working on in Algebra II--but applying it to the real world. Students who had been struggling in math understood how to complete their assignments and were more successful in the classroom,” he said. “And the fact that they know that they have a future with marketable skills has been very rewarding for us all.”

Conroe Independent School District--the largest in the county--is joining the program this fall by offering it to seniors at all of the district’s five high schools.

“By utilizing the college’s existing programs, the district believes this is an excellent opportunity to expand workforce skill offerings to students who may or may not be planning on attending a four-year college program without the added costs of adding facilities and staff,” said Gale Drummond, CISD assistant superintendent for secondary education. “The opportunities for students are numerous as they will be available for employment upon completion of the course.”

Chapman said WISD is pleased to be a trailblazer with the program.

“Although schools in other parts of the state have been doing this, we are very happy to have been able to offer it to our students and that other districts are following our lead,” he said. “And we are also most fortunate that we have an excellent partner like LSC-Montgomery.”

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