“Trade” In For A Better Future Right Here in St. Cloud

The future, what does it hold for you?  That’s a tricky question for a lot of people. If you’re a little older, established and working, or maybe, you’ve got a child or grandchild who will be graduating high school in the not-so-distant future, it’s a question that many people can’t answer. 

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Because I’m from North Carolina and my family lives in an area that was affected by Hurricane Helene last year, I was asked a question recently that got me thinking, will there be enough skilled labor to help them rebuild? You know, skilled people to rebuild homes, and of course those that will be needed to do the plumbing and electrical work for those homes. 

I started thinking about the opportunities that are available right here in our backyard for folks who might want to pursue a career in those fields. 

Full disclosure, I am a Community College Graduate and proud of that fact. I’m partial to starting your post-high school education at a community college.  

I spent about an hour last week with Steve Hoemberg, the Dean of Skilled Trades & Industry Division at St. Cloud Technical & Community College asking him in particular what programs that are labeled “Trades” that are offering graduates plenty of opportunities.  

Steve said "programs that some folks call Hard Trades, include Carpentry, HVAC (with refrigeration), Welding, Machining, Electrical, Plumbing, and even Culinary" are all taught there, and graduates are attractive to companies who are looking to hire right after graduation.  

But the trades go deeper than those programs.  

Transportation programs such as Auto Body Technician, Automotive Service Technician, and Medium-Heavy Duty Truck Technician are also taught at SCTCC. As a matter of fact, there are 24 “lifts” in the auto service lab where students work on cars that the community brings in for service. So, the opportunity for students to get hands-on experience is readily available.  

There is also the Robotics and Industrial Controls program which trains professional maintenance technicians for manufacturing settings.   

SCTCC also offers other trades programs that showcase a “hybrid of hands-on and traditional office-based work,” says Hoemberg.  These include programs like Land Survey / Civil Engineering, Architectural Construction Design, and Mechanical Design Engineering. There’s even a Water Environment Technologies program, which is one of only 3 in the state.

One of the reasons I was so attracted to the Community College I chose was because of the training I would get that would allow me to enter a workforce with skills that would be attractive to employers.  

What I’m trying to say is that in the Skilled Trades & Industry Division at SCTCC, you will learn what you need to craft yourself a new career path. 

“But I Don’t Know Anything About That Field!” 

That’s actually a remark that SCTCC hears a lot, and the good news, they don’t expect you to. Steve says there is a misconception that if you want to pursue a field, you must know something about it first before you can learn it and work in it.  

SCTCC will show you around, let you spend time in a particular area and see if you think you might want to pursue that further. And if you don’t, that’s fine. There are plenty of other areas they offer, one of those might be a better fit for you. 

 “I Don’t Know What I Would Like To Do” 

No matter if you are a recent high school graduate, or you are working a job that you don’t like and don’t see a future in, the staff at St. Cloud Technical & Community College encounters folks on a regular basis who aren’t sure what they want, they just know they don’t want to keep doing what they’ve been doing. 

The school has designed ways to help determine what your interests are and how they can help you find the path to get started.  

“But I Can’t Afford To Go To School” 

Community Colleges are designed to economically help you get started with either pursuing a four-year degree or finding that trade that will help you get a job soon.  

The costs are dramatically lower than going to a four-year institution. Plus, all the options for financial aid and scholarships that the “bigger” schools have, are also available at a community college. A significant number of students at St. Cloud Technical & Community College are getting some form of assistance to attend. Steve says “your best bet is to visit with our financial aid folks.  There’s a good chance you might be surprised by the opportunities available to you.  Don’t be intimidated if this process is new to you – we love helping folks explore their options.” 

We hear this all the time, there are scholarships just waiting for people to apply for them. Funds from scholarships and college foundations are there specifically to help students get into school. Don’t let money be a hinderance to you pursuing a dream or finding an opportunity to get into a career you want. 

“I’m Too Old To Go Back To School” 

Community Colleges do attract a good number of what are often called “traditional students”, those who go right out of high school, or within a couple of years. But Steve says “non-traditional students” make up a good portion of the student body at SCTCC as well, including the Skilled Trades & Industry Division. 

Let’s be honest, if you are a little older, the decisions you made when you were 18 are likely to be much different than they are now.  

One thing that helps is recognizing why you want to get into a new career. If it’s to provide for your family better, or just so you don’t have to keep doing what you’re doing now, let that be your motivation. 

“I’m Not Sure How I Would Have Time” 

This is a common concern for people, and Steve says that SCTCC has staff trained to help you process what your schedule would look like and how to make it all fit together. 

There’s even a program called “Cyclones Care” on campus. It’s a group of staff members who come together and help students with the situations they find themselves in. Whether it’s needing tutoring help or the struggles of paying for school while working a job, Cyclones Care has an intentional purpose to help students. 

You won’t be going through this alone. 

“How Quickly Can I Get A Job” 

That depends on what you choose to study. It’s possible what you want to study has a one-year program, but others will require around two years.  

But during the time you are on campus as a student, you’ll be exposed to the connections that SCTCC has developed with employers and you might find yourself in a situation that a company would hire you and pay for your school, or as soon as you walk across the stage and you step into your first job.  

“I’m Not Sure Where To Start” 

The first step is reaching out to the staff at SCTCC. With a few simple questions they have for you, they can begin to connect you to who you need to speak with. 

I mentioned tours, they offer those. Maybe you could sit in on a class and just see what it would be like. That’s possible too.  

The moral of the story here is this, if you think you want to pursue a new career, the opportunities are right here. There’s support, help, encouragement and guidance.  

Steve was proud to say that he hears from the faculty at St. Cloud Technical Community frequently that they enjoy reconnecting with former students who have gone on to chase their dreams as much as they do the teaching process itself.  

To learn more about these options at St. Cloud Technical & Technical College, visit www.sctcc.edu. 

So, I’ll ask you again, what does the future hold for you?