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03/06/2023 03:40 PMWith a labor shortage still present in East Haven and throughout the state, the Town and principal staff at East Haven High School (EHHS) are hoping their students can fill that gap through its Career Technical Education programming.
"There's definitely a labor shortage out there, and I think these kids today, if they can take advantage of a system like this, I think job opportunities are endless," said Mayor Joseph Carfora.
EHHS hosted a "Let's Connect" in December 2022, sponsored by the Carfora's office, East Haven Public Schools, and the Economic Development Commission, to show students not interested in higher education an available alternative to higher education.
Michelle Benivegna, director of economic development and administration and management, reflected on the "Let's Connect" event and the connections made between students and the 30 stakeholders in the event in need of young workers with solid trade and technical skills.
"We have a group of students who are very invested in learning these skills, and we have a community who needs them to work for them," said Benivegna. "So we thought this was a great opportunity to bring the two together, let the businesses see firsthand what they're learning."
The idea for CTE sprouted two years ago after a meeting between the Carfora, Caponera, and local businesses at East Haven Industrial Park. The complex houses businesses such as Schulz Electric, which are participating in the programming.
Through the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the Town learned how the crisis affected the careers of blue-collar worker, an essential part of East Haven's economy. Carfora estimated that 24% of the town's workforce are a part of a union, according to Carfora.
After businesses began to re-open, the Mayor's Office received numerous concerns from residents regarding a shortage of employees in industries such as culinary and automotive engineering. CTE can help bridge that need between businesses and students that are eager to learn trade, technical, and administrative skills. Carfora sees that students have a limitless future in finding work in their hometown while supplying an economic boon for a blue-collar town like East Haven.
Carfora said that the hands-on training from CTE programming is "very valuable" for EHHS students, especially those who want to enter the workforce immediately following graduation and leverage their technical and trade skills to local businesses.
Carfora credited the Board of Education for its part in preparing students bound for the workforce, as well as higher education, with the skills and knowledge platform CTE provides.
In addition to offering a sure path into the workforce, EHHS and the Town are also aiming for CTE opportunities such as internship programs and job-shadowing days to be established with participating industries and for connections to be made with Town departments, including the police, fire, and the public works.
Not to move too hastily, EHHS principal Vincent DeNuzzo commented that one benefit of establishing specific internship and job-shadowing opportunities between EHHS students and town industry translates into "something that will give our students some insight as to whether that's a career they truly want to pursue," he said.
"But at the same time, helping the local businesses who are having a hard time finding reliable employment, which will help the community as a whole," said DeNuzzo.
One of the most notable examples of how CTE can efficiently prepare technically-minded students for a productive career in East Haven is to consider what students learn in the advanced manufacturing lab at the high school, equipped with its desktop mills and coding technology.
"We kind of geared that manufacturing workshop to our community. We want our students to use that machinery and then literally go to the shop in two weeks and use that same machinery," said Richard Caponera, chief of operations and fiscal oversight at EHHS. "We didn't want them to have another training curve. We're making sure that the tools that they need to work are what they're working on as they're learning, too."
Along with engineering and culinary courses, the technical and trade fields, including CTE curriculum that includes automotive engineering, media and video production, and nursing. Caponera said the high school is also interested in having an aviation program, which would be a twin to Joseph Melillo Middle School's co-ed Aviation Career Exploration Program, the first of its kind in the entire country.
Looking to the future, Benivegna related back to the economic benefits CTE can provide for East Haven industry and their young native workers and how it can offer both a bright future for prepared EHHS graduates and a reason for them to uplift their hometown in the long run.
"That's ultimately the goal, is that they graduate from our schools, they get jobs in town, they grow roots in town, they raise their families in town, and it's just another generation."