Trades Academy
The Laramie County School District 1 Trades Academy is the premier pathway for students to enter skilled trades after graduation.
Explorative
Laramie County has seen a boom in the demand for skilled trades workers in high-paying career fields. Trades Academy students will discover the natural pathways from their current passions in Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses to trades-related employment, apprenticeships and higher education opportunities.
Industry-driven
The Trades Academy will provide industry and business partners from around the community access, opportunities and programming that entices and encourages students to enter their workforce. Partners are invited to the schools to co-teach skills, host events, speak to parents and explain their industries. Industry will mentor, advise and recruit students with the goal of providing excellent career opportunities for LCSD1 students in the state of Wyoming.
Targeted
This program will expose students to in-demand areas like plumbing, electrical, HVAC, safety training, data center maintenance, manufacturing, nuclear energy, fiber optics, heavy machinery, CDL, critical environment, construction and more.
Adam Keizer- Workforce Partnership Facilitator-LCSD#1
Together, the Trades Academy and our industry partners can illuminate a path to a career that has the potential to break economic cycles, develop the local workforce, retain Wyoming talent and launch careers for our students.
In the News
Across the country, there has been a boom in demand for skilled trades workers!
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Across the country, there has been a boom in demand for skilled trades workers and this year, South High opened its doors to the district’s first Trades Academy.
The LCSD1 Trades Academy offers a unique opportunity for high school students to explore pathways into rewarding trades careers. Throughout the year, local industry leaders—from large multinational companies to small mom-and-pop shops—shared their real-world expertise through co-teaching, mentoring and hands-on activities.
According to LCSD1 Workforce Partnership Facilitator Adam Keizer, the Trades Academy’s goal is to provide the same level of commitment to getting students to the trades as we currently do for the traditional college route. It is designed to meet students where they are at and create different ways to access knowledge.
The Trades Academy students have learned about careers in construction, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, manufacturing, fiber optics, data center maintenance, automotive and more.
For example, a local HVAC company, Advanced Comfort Solutions, showed students how to fit PVC pipes and how to calculate offsets. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 415, which is part of North America’s largest electrical union, had students practice wiring and testing light switches to avoid popping a circuit. Mechanical Solutions Inc., an industry leader in underground utilities, ran an activity where students had to estimate the cost, and develop a competitive bid to completely remodel their Trades Academy classroom.
Dominick Espinoza, the owner of local construction and property maintenance company, Oddjobr, led a hands-on activity to teach the basics of a restroom renovation.
“Exposure to the trades at a young age creates a big impact,” said Espinoza, who still remembers participating in the construction program at East High when he was in school. “We need a workforce that's going to help us rebuild all this old stuff that's over 100 years old. There’s a demand for trades workers, which enables them to be valuable.”
Student engagement is valued at South High, and the school aims to provide multiple access points to success.
“We are really trying to think outside the box of how to get kids just really engaged in school,” South High Principal Kerri Gentry said. “We want to catch their spirit again and hook them back into our program.”
Keizer said the Trades Academy helps bridge the gap between academia and specialized hands-on learning. In addition to exposing students to the trades, it’s providing confidence and a sense of self-worth and belonging.
“Maybe (students) weren’t in sports, FFA or ROTC, and what I am seeing with a lot of the students is that this may be the first time where they feel like they belong to something,” Keizer said. “They feel like they're on the path to something, and that something is pretty exciting to them.”
Tammy Simpson, South’s college and career counselor, said Trades Academy students boast about their job prospects, and that this program has expanded horizons for students and families and will provide opportunities for success.
South High senior and Trades Academy student Heather Johnson said, “I enjoyed learning about all the different trades specialties and being able to ask questions regarding beginning salaries and working hours.”
The Trades Academy has allowed Johnson to network with professionals at WyoTech and Laramie County Community College, where she plans to attend in the fall to pursue a career in the automotive industry.
Additionally, two students landed a job with Mechanical Systems Inc., 10 joined a pre-apprenticeship summer program with Advanced Comfort Solutions, while others were hired with organizations like the Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities. In total, 29 seniors are pursuing trades-related careers through the LCSD1 Trades Academy.
The district plans to expand the Trades Academy to other schools to help provide similar enrichment opportunities.
David Rayl, tech construction teacher and faculty adviser for the Trades Academy said, “It’s been a lot of fun to see the increased exposure and partnership between the workforce and the school district trying to work together to meet the needs of Cheyenne.”
