On February 7th, Amador students gathered outside of the library at lunch to learn about careers in trades.

“Students often feel a four-year college is the only path to sustaining themselves through life. However, we do have a percentage of students for whom a four-year college is not always the best fit, and we are trying to reach those students and show them that there are other choices,” said Janice Wilson, College and Career Specialist at Amador. 

Students had the opportunity to visit stands with information about blue-collar professions. Lunch provided enough time to look through the different career options and speak to the professional trade workers.

“As a person who grew up out here, you don’t get that exposure to the trades at all. You maybe see somebody building something, or you drive around in a nice car but you don’t really think about how it was built. Exposure to trades gets people to think about how somebody had to build that and how that could potentially be the right option for them,” said James Weston, CTE professor at Las Positas College.

The showcase had many trade options including construction, electricians, carpentry, and engineering. This helped give students a better understanding of trade jobs and opened up their eyes to the potential opportunities for their future.

“One of the benefits of being exposed to trades would be that students learn what their options are after high school and what they could do in life if they don’t want to go down the [secondary education] path,” said Anshul Reddy (‘25).

In the Tri-Valley, there are many opportunities to learn about trade jobs, such as career fairs, apprenticeships, or programs at Las Positas College. On March 25th, Las Positas will be hosting an open house for students to learn more about their options, many of which are trade jobs. 

“The trades provide essential services for which there will always be a need. They offer stable incomes that can comfortably support a family, and they offer the opportunity to spend your career doing interesting and important work,” said Wilson.