Career Pathways Incorporate Renewable Energy and Sustainability
by Bonnie Bain, writer; and Arabelis Luciano, consultant and interview facilitator
The best kept secret of Salem Public Schools is our high school Career & Technical Education (CTE) program, which provides students with career education and workplace experience as an alternative to heading straight to college. Led by Director Mario Sousa, the program offers training in traditional trades like carpentry and electrical as well as less traditional fields like culinary arts and early education and care. An exciting new opportunity for students is learning about careers in renewable energy, sustainable construction, and eco-friendly agriculture.
Sousa is an immigrant from the Azores, and that experience, he says, allows him to connect with many of Salem’s high school students.
Sousa is an immigrant from the Azores, and that experience, he says, allows him to connect with many of Salem’s high school students. He has an infectious energy that has helped him to bring partners and resources to the program. Devoted to seeing his students succeed in the 21st century, he has sought to shift the program toward new sustainable technologies and opportunities.
We recently spoke to Sousa about the CTE program to learn more about how he’s preparing students to work in the green economy, especially the offshore wind industry, which will be bringing hundreds of jobs to Salem in the next several years.
Offshore Wind and other Sustainable Pathways
Sousa is working to integrate sustainability pathways into many of CTE’s programs. The culinary program might soon have a food sourcing course; the construction program, a LEED AP Green Associate course for sustainable building practices; and automotive technology, an electric and hybrid vehicle maintenance pathway. Sousa stresses the importance of exposing students to what sustainability means in the chosen fields: “If it’s not in a video game or if it’s not on social media, then it’s just a concept for kids now a days, that is the reality of it. Unless you can present tangible concepts that children can easily comprehend, it’s mere dialogue without any practical value.”
Sousa is working to integrate sustainability pathways into many of CTE’s programs.
The electrical program is one of the key pathways for students interested in renewable energy. Soon students will be able to access training in how to install and maintain photovoltaic systems (solar power) and offshore wind turbines (using virtual training equipment). Students are also exposed to how different trades—for example, carpentry or facilities maintenance—could be employed in the renewable energy industry.
Another pathway into the offshore wind industry is Marine Services Technology, a new track that is an offshoot of Auto Technology. This track exposes students to the multitude of jobs associated with the marine economy, from computer science to food service to operating vessels.
Offshore wind could provide 50 percent of our state’s energy needs in the future. Careers in this industry provide real opportunities for Salem High School students, nearly 70 percent of whom come from immigrant families. Through the CTE program, Sousa is making sure these students, many of whom grew up in environmental justice neighborhoods, understand in concrete terms the skills they need to access the industry’s good-paying, union jobs.
Onsite Learning
When it comes to Marine Services, Sousa has found that few students understand the field or what careers are available. “We need to work with the industry to expose students,” says Sousa, “by bringing them out to the sites for information sessions and tours.”
As an immigrant, Sousa understands that first- and second-generation immigrants might not be familiar with the marine environment and the potential for related careers because of cultural barriers. Even though we all live on the coast, he explains, not everyone is exposed to the local beaches, and many don’t have the opportunity to be on boats. Many students don’t know how to swim. “These are the cultural differences that we need to consider,” Sousa says. “Unless we meet our scholars where they are we’re not going to bring them along.”
The Case for Career & Technical Education
Sousa has worked to break down barriers that prevent students from pursuing careers in the trades. The “non-traditional club” supports students interested in a field that traditionally doesn’t reflect their gender – for instance, young men who might want to be medical assistants or caregivers, young women interested in becoming carpenters and electricians, or nonbinary students who simply never saw a place for themselves in the trades.
The “non-traditional club” supports students interested in a field that traditionally doesn’t reflect their gender. “Just because it’s a male-dominated field, a female-dominated field, that doesn’t mean anything,” says Sousa. “It’s just what has become the societal norm.
Let’s break it. Let’s find a different way.”
“Just because it’s a male-dominated field, a female-dominated field, that doesn’t mean anything,” says Sousa. “It’s just what has become the societal norm. Let’s break it. Let’s find a different way.” It’s this attitude that can break down barriers and get students to see the opportunities that the offshore wind and many other industries bring.
CTE students have gone on to be sheet metal workers, carpenters, and laborers, careers that, Sousa notes, pay family-supporting wages. These are real opportunities that don’t require a college degree.
“It doesn’t have to be so linear, where you go to college right out of high school. I didn’t. I think I turned out just fine,” says Sousa. “There’s different pathways and some kids might not be ready emotionally or financially to go to college. Don’t they deserve a high-paying, high-demand field where they can make a living?”
Supporting Adult Learners
In addition to helping high school students, the CTE program wants to support the community as a whole. As part of the state’s career tech initiative, Salem High received a grant to teach two career tech programs at night: Facilities Maintenance and Automotive/Marine Services.
Facilities Maintenance will include tracks like HVAC, building automation, and energy efficiency. Participants will graduate with the LEED Green AP certification — an industry sustainability certification that is widely recognized, especially if you’re going into building automation or management.
On the automotive side, with the marine services focus, participants can opt to get a small engine certification, Yamaha Technician or entry level Automotive Technician and an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) certification.
This free career advancement program, targeted to 18- to 25-year-olds who are underemployed or unemployed, starts September 18 (for more information, please email Jcandelario@salemk12.org).
Bonnie Bain is the wind program manager for SAFE. Arabelis Luciano is a SAFE Fellow and a bilingual family engagement coordinator at the Salem public schools.