Minot High and Minot North offer a wide selection of career and technical education options. Those options were enhanced this year by an electrical wiring course, made possible through a partnership with the local electrical union.

Students will be able to complete a portion of their first year electrical apprenticeship, said Nick Ziegler, who teaches the construction course.

“If they were to just come off the street and join the apprenticeship program, they’ve got to go through a ranking system and an interview process, and they get ranked with the rest of their class. Students that come out of this class get to leapfrog that whole process,” he said.

Ziegler said the union was looking for skilled labor and approached the school about a collaboration.

Jill Schramm/MDN Mylah Shaw works with a mannequin in practicing care for a patient in a Sept. 26 certified nursing assistant class at Minot High School.

“We have about 23 students in this first semester class,” he said.

Minot High’s previously existing construction technology classes have sent students into the workforce in recent years.

Ziegler estimated about half of students in construction classes are interested in construction as a vocation. Employers around the community are looking to hire students because they can get them in the door early and further train them, he said.

“There’s just a ton of opportunity in the trades industry,” he added.

Other courses that can launch students into careers include aviation, automotive technology and auto body and health classes.

Jill Schramm/MDN Josh Marsland, a student at Minot High School, rings up a purchase for a customer at the Magi Market Sept. 26. The school-based store gives students in the marketing class a chance for hands-on experience in running an enterprise.

Minot High has offered aviation for nine years.

“One of my first students had no idea he wanted to be a pilot,” instructor Meric Murphy said. “But he decided he liked flying. He was a real good student, and he’s right now a co-pilot on Southwest AIrlines, flying 737s.” Another former student is an examiner who assesses people in flight to determine whether they earn their licenses, while others have gone on to other pilot roles and air traffic control.

Seven students currently are working toward their pilot’s licenses separately from the aviation class, which has about 50 students.

By the time students graduate, they have simulator experience that prepares them for whatever they might encounter in flight, Murphy said.

“To get a pilot’s commercial license, you need 250 hours,” Murphy said. “We’re giving 440 hours. So I can really center in on everything they need to know.”

Jill Schramm/MDN Lincoln Brooks, front, and Caleb Brentrup, work on an electrical outlet during a class at Minot High School Sept. 26.

Some students decide to go on to aviation college, but Murphy said that step isn’t generally necessary. With their aviation course experience, flying locally can give students all the additional experience they need.

Workforce training

Auto body courses are similar in providing the basics that students can hone as they work in the field. Students learn welding, painting, dent repair and practice disassembling and reassembling a vehicle.

The class has placed seven students in the workforce in the past two years, Minot High instructor Kevin Nelson said. Students often find areas in which they want to specialize, whether that is painting, graphics, office work or body work. There also are opportunities to work in parts departments, insurance or management, he said.

The automotive technology classes, under head instructor Jami DeCent, have provided a path to certifications in the vehicle mechanics field.

David Johnson, automotive technology instructor at Minot High, said on-the-job experience still is a requirement of certification, but employers like to see job applicants who already have passed the test.

Quite a few automotive students enter the field and work in Minot, including in jobs that involve heavy equipment, he said. Going on to a technical college for more training is an option, but there have been students who have been able to enter the workforce based on their high school training, gaining the additional knowledge they need on the job, Johnson said.

Robert Lewis, welding instructor at Minot High, said training in his classes is comparable to a trade school, offering all the same courses but metallurgy. Students who complete Welding II are prepared to test for certification.

Minot High has invested in equipment that makes its program the strongest in the state, Lewis said. Once employers become aware of that training, they take interest in the students, he said. Some students also have elected to go into the trades.

Students in a medical careers class this fall have been practicing skills to test for health professional-level certification in CPR.

Melissa Johannes, instructor of the medical careers classes at Minot High, said students who go on to the second year of the program learn CPR and other skills, such as taking vital signs, and become HIPAA certified. They are able to job shadow in the community in settings from a dental office to operating room.

“They let them go in wherever they’re interested in shadowing and actually observe,” she said, citing the supportiveness of the community. “Things that they can do – that they’re trained in – they can assist with as well.”

Johannes said 80-90% of students in her medical careers classes actually go on to medical careers. Without that exposure in high school, she questions whether numbers would be that high.

“What’s really neat, too, is so many people might think that they know the area they’re interested in, but it’s really during this class that I would say a good majority of them actually find a different career path within the medical field that they didn’t know existed,” she said.

A course that trains students to become certified nursing assistants is a first step for many students interested in health careers.

“I wanted to take it because I wanted to see into the medical field and get that experience for the future, and I thought it would be just a fun class because I really like medical classes,” said Abby Meharry, a junior interested in becoming a physician.

Foot in the door

Jason New, information technology instructor at Minot High, said students can obtain multiple certifications from courses offered in IT. There are certifications for cybersecurity as well as industry certifications.

A quarter to half of students are looking at going on to college to take additional computer courses, New said. Others have an interest in computers but want to explore how far to go with it, he said.

“A lot of them don’t need (college) degrees. You can leave school with two or three certifications and get into the IT field,” he said. “If they see you have a networking certification, for instance, it’s truthfully probably the hardest one to get. It’s some advanced stuff, but it’s the same certification that they offer going through Minot State.

“They leave here with a foot in the door to the IT field,” he added. “If they get all of their certifications, they definitely have a huge step in – and ahead – in the IT field.”

CTE provides career exploration for many students, helping them find their interests before investing in college.

Minot High marketing instructor Cassie Vetter has seen students become passionate about marketing after taking a class. Others already know they want to be entrepreneurs.

“Some of these kids already own their own businesses and so they want more information on how to do it right,” Vetter said.

Students get a chance to work in a school-based store that sells items such as snack foods and school-branded clothing. They fully manage the store, including choosing items to stock.

“It’s really a full business,” Vetter said. “It’s definitely career ready.” Students can list the experience and references on job applications.

Career exploration

Agriculture classes at Minot High often are more exploratory for students looking for a career fit, said instructor Emily Casner.

“Those basic skills that we’re learning and reinforcing in our classes can be applied across a lot of different career choices,” she said. “When you look at agriculture, there’s so many supportive careers that go into it.”

Students realize they can be biologists or a loan officer and still be part of agriculture, she said.

Minot North offers a meat processing class, which teaches butchering skills but also food safety. Students can earn food safety certification, and the school is investigating other certifications, Casner said.

Minot North also offers a culinary program through Family and Consumer Science. FACS, like agriculture courses, offers exposure to a variety of professions.

“It’s incorporated into every class, but what we’re trying to do is give students the basic skills that they need to start and then also bring in guest speakers to come and talk about what they do,” said FACS teacher Katie Knowles.

Engineering is another course that gives students exposure to different types of occupations. A promising career with good pay is important as she considers her future plans, said Minot High junior Samantha Vonbokern, who was drawn to engineering because she likes building.

“I’m sort of exploring, seeing what part I like,” she said.

Lisa Wolf, a Minot High educator who oversees a program that enables students to job shadow or intern in the community, has placed students in fields including finance, real estate, medical, childcare, law enforcement, auto body, retail management, law, photography and marketing.

A summer program also provides 75 hours of on the job training. Some complete the two weeks and stay and work for the summer, Wolf said.

“The kids can do one job shadow a semester – or eight in high school. It is usually a two-three hour shift with a person in a business,” Wolf said.

Seeing the excitement on the face of a student after a ride-along with a sheriff’s deputy is rewarding, she said. A marketing class student also recently job shadowed with Visit Minot during Norsk Hostfest.

The jobs program includes classroom study in which students research careers, prepare resumes and write thank you letters to the businesses that host them.

“Sometimes that is the hardest part – is finding those placements,” Wolf said. Despite the need to recruit future workers, Wolf noted employers often don’t feel they have time to devote to a student. However, employers who would like to get involved can contact Wolf at Minot High School.