Trades courses and internships will replace BT program


Humboldt Building Trades class students pour cement recently on the home remodel they are completing on 6th Street South. It was announced on Monday that the longtime Building Trades program will be replaced by locally-taught trades courses and an internship program with local businesses. Humboldt Independent photo by Jim Sayers.

By PHIL MONSON
The building trades program at Humboldt High School will be replaced with a new initiative after action by the Humboldt School Board Monday night, May 15.
At the board’s regular monthly meeting, the board approved discontinuing the building trades program and re-purpose the funds into trades courses and internships with local business and industry.
The program, which has been in place for 25 years, has been taught by an in-school instructor or by an instructor shared with Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge.
“Building trades is a four-period course with an instructor at approximately $45,000. That cost is about $3,000 per student when you consider we have 15 students participating during the school year,” Humboldt School Superintendent Jim Murray said.
“We don’t have any program comparatively at that expense,” Murray said.
“I propose we utilize those funds to strengthen our career tracks at the high school, which can serve many more students. We are also working diligently to develop an internship program to place students with employers in town, receive high school credit and hopefully, feed our local labor shortage,” Murray said. Read more about action by the Humboldt Board of Education and other school news in this week's Humboldt Independent.

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