River Dell students trade textbooks for tool belts in new electrical apprenticeship program
River Dell Regional High School has partnered with the Electrical Training Academy to launch a hands-on electrical training program for juniors and seniors, the first class of its kind at the school.
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Trade skills training was once a fixture of the American high school experience. It faded from most schools over the decades, but at River Dell Regional High School, it's back, and it comes with some perks: high school credit, college credit and a path toward a licensed trade, all before graduation.
River Dell has partnered with the Electrical Training Academy (ETA) to launch a hands-on electrical training program for juniors and seniors, the first class of its kind at the school. Students have spent the past three weeks, spending three hours a day learning to strip wire, wire outlets and switches, and build electrical systems from scratch, with their work tested by instructors.
For River Dell senior Jonathan Allen, he says it’s the school experience he always wanted.
"Since I was 14 and eighth grade, I knew that school wasn't for me. I was never a straight-A student. I always liked working on engines," Allen said. "It makes you want to go to school. It makes me enjoy it a lot more. Every day I don't think about the three classes that I have to sit in, like biology. I think about, I've got ETA today, and I'm excited for it," he said.
Bergenfield High School student Jack Walsh agrees.
“I love hands on work. I love anything that keeps me like going. I wouldn't be able to sit down all day,” Walsh said.
Students work through lessons on the electrical code book before putting on tool belts for hands on instruction, wiring outlets and switches connected to lights and learning how different wiring configurations work.
"The amount that they've learned in such a short period of time is just really, really impressive," said River Dell Superintendent Dr. James Albro.
According to River Dell and ETA, the partnership is the first Related Technical Instruction and On-the-Job Training apprenticeship pathway approved under U.S. Department of Labor standards to be offered to students while they're still enrolled in high school. Beyond trade credentials, students in the program can earn college credit through Thomas Edison State University and a scholarship covering the remainder of an associate degree through ETA's partnership with the university.
The program also includes OSHA 30 certification, job placement support, instruction on starting and running a business in New Jersey, an introduction to data center operations, and career services such as resume building and video resumes highlighting students' hands-on skills.
"When you can earn the education at the same time as earning those industry credits that help you beyond high school, it's just a home run for them," Albro said. "They would have to take these credits in addition to what they learn in high school had they not had this program."
