BIG TIMBER— A Big Timber nonprofit is teaching 33 high school, junior high and grade school students trade skills for free this year, helping to grow a shrinking labor force.
Sweet Grass Technical Institute is teaching students what they will need to know to fill those types of roles.
Watch students learn:
“I don't feel like it should cost a lot for kids that really should be getting it in school anyway. So, we just we do a lot of fundraising and work on getting grants and different things to get money to keep the cost low for kids,” said Casey Smith, who founded the nonprofit in 2016.
“Our main focus was automotive technology because the high school here, like most high schools, don't offer that anymore,” added Smith.
Trade skills, such as automotive mechanics and manufacturing are in need in the United States. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 400,000 skilled trade jobs remain unfilled.
Just at Ford Motor Company, there are 5,000 open mechanic jobs across the nation.
In Big Timber, several students plan on pursuing careers in automotive and aircraft mechanics.
“If they do proceed into mechanics, they can take it to IO Tech or UTI or any other trade school, and they'll hopefully be already fast-forwarded into what they know,” said instructor Adam Davenport.
Seventeen-year-old high school senior Dillon Gehnert plans on using the mechanics skills he has learned at the nonprofit after he graduates.
“A lot of automotive techs are leaving the industry, really, so, we kind of need somebody to start in those positions again,” said Gehnert.
“I feel like I kind of have a leg up in the workforce with these skills that I’ve learned here,” he added.
Some students, however, are attending these classes so they can bring this knowledge into their personal lives.
“If somebody ever breaks down, I want to be able to help them and actually know what I'm talking about,” said 17-year-old Samantha Davenport, who has been learning welding and automotive skills for two months.
“It's fun. We share a lot of laughs. It's just, it's like a second family,” she added.
The classes at Sweet Grass Institute are free, except for a $200 tool fee at the beginning.
Students take the tools home with them when they complete their time at the institute.
