MAR LIN - When Stephen Babinchak started St. Jude Polymer Corp. in the 1970s, he said it was a very tough economic climate with few jobs available.
"We are in the same position today because we haven't created any new jobs in the last five years and someone has to stand up and do something to help give ideas to some of these students," Babinchak said Thursday.
Babinchak went to Shenandoah Valley High School and graduated from Penn State University in 1963 with a degree in electrical engineering. He was an owner of the Frackville plastics recycling plant until it closed a few years after Illinois Tool Works Inc. bought it in 2005.
Now a substitute teacher at Schuylkill Technology Center, Babinchak said the trade school offers many career opportunities that are often overlooked by students.
"These guys have a great opportunity in their future and can get an education for free," Babinchak said about the students. "It's things like that that I hope inspire some young people."
Schuylkill Technology Center is an accredited career and technical school serving all 12 public school districts in Schuylkill County. Students attending parochial schools can also enroll, as well as adults. There are 19 programs available, including courses in automotive technology, computer information systems, cosmetology, culinary arts, health care, landscape and floral design, marketing, masonry, early childhood care and education, plumbing and heating technology and small engine repair.
Students are in grades 10 through 12 and courses are offered in half-year semesters. The center operates two facilities: North Campus, located at 101 Technology Drive, Frackville, and South Campus, 15 Maple Avenue, Mar Lin.
David Hess teaches residential and industrial electrical courses at the center.
"We show them everything from fixing a light build to working motorized controls," Hess said Thursday.
He had 15 students in the classroom Thursday and said there will be 25 next semester.
"There's usually a waiting list for the shop, so it seems like more people want to get involved," Hess said. "I just think kids are realizing that college is not for everyone, the prices are outrageous and they can learn a trade here for free."
Just next door, 16 students were working together to build a roofed structure in a carpentry class.
Phil Kintzel said he will have another 18 students in his class next semester.
"I've never had low numbers traditionally," he said. "Everyone works on their houses at one time or another so they see a need for it."
Kintzel said many of the graduates are able to find work right out of school while others go on to post-secondary education and open up their own business.
There were two girls in the class Thursday and there will be about 4 or 5 next semester, Kintzel said.
"There's been an influx in girls deciding to come and learn trades and they do well," he said.
Juliann Reazor, Schuylkill Haven, looked comfortable using a saw Thursday.
"I've been around it since I was little," Reazor said.
She said her dad is a carpenter and operates his own business.
"It's a male-dominated trade so to see a female in the course may seem unusual," Reazer said. "It's becoming more common, but it is still different."
Reazer said she plans to pursue a post-secondary education and wants to become a construction manager.
Nate Stahl, a junior from Minersville, is already employed at the Deka battery manufacturing company, East Penn Manufacturing, outside Kutztown. Enrolled in the machine trades technology course at the campus, Stahl said he eventually wants to open up his own business.
"It was something new," Stahl said about the course. "It was something different so I gave it a try and I'm glad that I did."
Fred Cicero, the course instructor, said the number of students in the classroom has been slowly improving over the last couple of years. He said there are usually about 10 students each semester, but would like to see the class closer to its capacity at 20.
"I think a lot of students don't realize what they do and what they can make," he said. "It's a rewarding career. You are always creating new things so it's exciting."
He said many of his students find employment with different machine or fabrication companies in the area.
Some of the other classes at the school have waiting lists. Welding has 18 students and always has a waiting list, Kurt Lynch, vocational director, said. A new diesel repair course will also start in the fall at North Campus, Lynch said.
For more information about the programs and services available at the Schuylkill Technology Center, visit www.stcenters.org.