Students at Carroll County High School are moving mountains, in a manner of speaking.
The school is offering a heavy equipment pathway dubbed CATALYST (Carroll Area Transportation And Logistics Youth Simulation Training) for the first time this year.
Industry partners who would employ CCHS grads who can operate the multitude of equipment were offered a sneak peek at the training module near the end of school last year.
The simulators will let students experience using a crane for loading a steel coil onto a truck bed, moving dirt for a designated design, excavating dirt and loading it into a dump truck and utilizing a forklift. The machine generates a performance report and modules can be repeated until success is achieved. If a student encounters a problem, the simulation continues so they can learn how to remedy the situation.
The initial program will include 15 to 20 students. The Vortex Advantage simulator features three screens that can rotate to show a horizontal or vertical image during the simulation. In addition, students who have a driver’s license and are following this pathway may be able to earn their Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) by the end of the program.
All of the industry partners who saw the simulators in action agreed the exposure and experience would benefit students who could become their future employees. The district is also working on a partnership in which industries could utilize the simulator for training/retraining their employees as well.
“We’re trying to get the most flexibility with the simulators,” said Jeff Fremin, Work-Based Learning Coordinator and School Community Liaison. “We want them to have the full experience.” Fremin organized the simulation.
Superintendent Casey Jaynes said he and CCHS Principal Amy Sutter began strategizing about a year ago for a way to offer a heavy equipment pathway. “Our community is changing and we have to provide our employers with a technically skilled workforce,” Jaynes said. “CCHS and CCMS use the YouScience program to determine students' aptitudes and interests for determining future offerings for our students. We found a number of students whose aptitude and interest is in this field so we began to pursue this opportunity.”
Josh Wright, who operates Kemper Construction, said the simulator does a good job of teaching basic controls of a bulldozer. “It would definitely be beneficial,” he said after spending some time working on different modules of the simulator.
Shawn Keeton of Luhn and Oak Construction, was excited about CATALYST, noting it is hard to find employees who have experience with heavy equipment and cranes. “For the school to embrace the needed training and worker shortage is a dream come true and something that I have thought about and worked toward for years,” he said.
Approximately 80 students were also given an opportunity to use the simulator as well, developing an interest in the heavy equipment pathway, Fremin said.
Another open house may be scheduled in late August after CATALYST is in action.