VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The Virginia Career and Technical Education Department presented STIHL with the Business & Industry Partnership School Division Award at the Creating Excellence Awards luncheon last month. John Keeler, national training manager for STIHL, attended the luncheon and accepted the award on the company’s behalf.
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Nominated by Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS), STIHL received statewide recognition for “exemplary projects that promote excellence in career and technical training.” STIHL has played a major role in the design of the state-of-the art Virginia Beach small engines technology training facility and curriculum.
“Being a part of such a worthy project has been very rewarding for me.” said John Keeler, who provided hours of guidance and recommendations that allowed the Virginia Beach outdoor power equipment (OPE) program to become accredited by the Equipment and Engine Training Council (EETC).
As a nationally recognized EETC accredited program, students receive the benefits of manufacturer, distributor and dealer recognition and support. Since 2003, the alliance between STIHL and VBCPS has provided a world-class OPE program training students in a high-skill career path that will help fill a dire shortage of properly trained, industry-certified OPE service and repair technicians.
VBCPS says students don’t often have the opportunity to be in on the ground floor of a new course. However, this school year, 40 students at the Technical and Career Education Center have had the opportunity to do just that. High school junior Jennifer Butler says the experience has been great. Jennifer attends the afternoon Outdoor Power Equipment (OPE) class at the Tech Center and is one of two girls enrolled in the course.
“My dad is a mechanic and was also a student at the Tech Center,” Butler says. “I’ve always been around motors and enjoy helping my dad work on them. Having this chance to get technical training and experience is great. My dream is to work for STIHL after I graduate.”
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Brian Stewart, a junior, is also a student who has long had an interest in learning about engines and in gaining hands on practical experience in rebuilding and servicing them. With the OPE class he gets both. “I knew I wanted to come to the Tech Center, but I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to take,” he says. “Then, my guidance counselor told me about this class. I’ve found that if I put my mind to it, it’s easy, especially since we do the work ourselves. That way, I gain confidence in myself that I can do the job.”
Tech Center instructor Ben Thomas underlines the fact that these students in the Outdoor Power Equipment program are breaking new academic ground. Conceived in partnership with STIHL and the outdoor power equipment industry, the OPE class focuses on teaching students practical skills such as the servicing, repairing, and rebuilding of a variety of engines as well as the more technical aspects of the field involving hydraulics, electricity, and engineering. At the same time, students receive training in business management since the class is actually structured as a business. Students clock in and use time sheets, learn the logistics of ordering supplies, develop budgets, and the like. As Thomas points out, “When students complete the program and pass the certification test, they are fully prepared to enter the outdoor power equipment industry as highly sought after skilled workers.”
| STIHL AT SCHOOL | |
Encouraging industry education is at the forefront of Stihl's corporate culture. A regular contributor to the PLANET Student Career Days, Stihl annually awards the school that wins the 'landscape olympics' with a check to cover the group's expenses for the following year's Student Career Days. Read SCD 2005: The Spirit of Sponsorship for more information on Stihl's philosophy on how contributing to events like Student Career Days benefits the industry overall and not just the company itself. |
STIHL has contributed to the program’s success through its support of the course’s curriculum development as well as donating the power equipment on which students work. In addition, STIHL is providing mentorship opportunities through practical applications, such as hosting a student tour of Stihl’s Virginia Beach facility.
“One of our major strategic issues is to support the creation and development of VBCPS’ Outdoor Power Equipment program,” Keeler says. “In this way, STIHL can help support the industry by introducing students to the opportunities available to them as skilled workers in a burgeoning industry. A critical need for highly skilled technicians currently exists and the need for such skilled workers in this industry will only continue to grow.”
Perhaps one of the most impressive features of the new OPE class at the Tech Center is the facility in which it operates. Several large rooms comprise the classroom complex with two rooms devoted to shop space that is equipped with tools, tool boxes, engines, motors, chain saws, generators, weed trimmers, and the like, and a third room outfitted with a full complement of computer work stations. Professional equipment, tools, and the spacious shop offer students a real-life job experience they would be hard pressed to find elsewhere in a high school classroom setting.
When students successfully complete the program and pass the corresponding certification test, they will graduate with industry accreditation from the EETC and receive the Outdoor Power Equipment Certified Technician credential. The OPE technician certification is recognized throughout the industry and those who earn it are not only widely recruited for positions but often have the added advantage of rapid advancement in the field.
As with other technical and career education programs, the goal for the Outdoor Power Equipment course is to have students successfully take the national certification which is on the state’s list for verified credits in technical education. Eventually, OPE credits may extend to community college credit at local schools, such as Tidewater Community College.
The Virginia Beach City Public Schools 'Apple-A-Day e-Zine' contributed to this report.