Franklin County Career Tech Center’s Made in Alabama event exposes sixth graders to local industries, skilled trades
Nearly 250 sixth grade students from Belgreen, East Franklin, Phil Campbell, Red Bay, Tharptown, and Vina gathered at the Franklin County Career Technical Center for the center’s Made in Alabama event the morning of Wednesday, October 8.
After a group picture the students, split off into several touring groups led by career tech ambassadors and student volunteers, were off to visit the many classrooms that make up the career tech campus, listen to several local businesses that came to present, and view the different products that are made right here in the state of Alabama.
Jonathan King, the director of the Franklin County Career Tech Center, said the Made in Alabama event exposes students to different trades and career opportunities available locally.
“Events like Made in Alabama at the Franklin County Career Tech Center are designed to connect students with the real-world opportunities that exist right in their own communities,” King said. “The purpose is to showcase local industries, skilled trades, and technical careers that are vital to Alabama’s economy, while also helping students see the many pathways to success beyond traditional four-year college routes.”
Red Bay sixth graders ask questions in the industrial maintenance classroom.
Franklin County Schools students, who can begin taking career tech program classes at their home schools beginning in the seventh grade and can start taking classes at the career tech center as freshmen, visited the classrooms at the career tech center where they listened to instructors describe and demonstrate the skills and trades they teach. These classes included: business, drafting, automotive, industrial maintenance, cabinetmaking, welding, cosmetology, and health science.
As one instructor told a group of Red Bay students: “There’s plenty of things you can come down here (to the career tech center) and learn that will benefit you. If college isn’t your thing, come down here and learn a trade. There’s a lot of money that can be made learning a trade. But even if you don’t make a career out of a skill or trade you learn here, you can still benefit from it as you grow up and become adults.”
Students also went around and received presentations from local businesses. Kona Ice, Tiffin Motorhomes, and Pilgrim’s Pride sent representatives to speak to student groups.
The Franklin Free Press spoke to three representatives from Pilgrim’s Pride—Joel Bradley, Greg Walker, and Heather Aldridge—during their lunch break.
With chicks chirping in the background, Bradley, who is a hatchery manager for Pilgrim’s, said he enjoyed meeting with the students and explaining the variety of career paths available in the company.
“I’ve just enjoyed explaining to them that there are just so many jobs and potential career opportunities. I know I’ll leave some out, but we’ve added robotics to our operations so we need people that can work in robotics. Obviously we need maintenance staff and other skilled workers,” Bradley said.
Pilgrim’s Pride broiler service technician Greg Walker speaks to a group of Phil Campbell sixth graders.
Walker, a broiler service technician, concurred with Bradley: “When people think of Pilgrim’s, they usually think about the chicken plant, but there’s just so much more that goes on and so many more different jobs at different locations that we have.”
Bradley continued: “And then there’s all kinds of other jobs that you might not think about. We need accountants, we need managers, we need (information technology), we need human resources. We’ve got home offices in Colorado, and we’ve got plants and locations all over the country, so there’s just so many different jobs and careers available. A lot of the skills and trades you can learn here at the career tech center, you can find a great, well-paying job at Pilgrim’s with those.”
Bradley, plugging Pilgrim’s jobs and skills programs, nodded to Aldridge, who was promoted over the years from an entry-level position to eventually a hatchery supervisor.
“We can teach you the skills you need. You can work your way up the ladder. Heather is a great example of that,” he said.
One of the other stops that students made on their tour was to the Made in Alabama room, where a variety of different products made right here locally were on display. These products have been donated by manufacturers and businesses, and the career tech center is hoping that it can increase and diversify its collection in order to better show students all the different—and important—products that are made in the state.
King would like to see the young Made in Alabama program (just in its second year), along with its sister “North Pole edition” held for third graders in December, continue to flourish with more participation from businesses and industry.
“In the future, I’d like to see the Made in Alabama event continue to grow by expanding both its reach and its impact,” he said. “This could include having more local and regional industries to participate on site, so students are exposed to an even wider range of career fields—from advanced manufacturing and healthcare to technology, agriculture, and business.”
Students receive a demonstration in the health science classroom.
A student receives a demonstration in the cosmetology classroom.