Autry Tech instructor sees a shift toward trade careers

ENID, Okla. — For nearly 60 years, Autry Technology Center has prepared students for careers ranging from the construction, business and medical fields.

Autry Tech has served the Enid community and surrounding areas since 1967 with one goal in mind – preparing a workforce for today and tomorrow.

“Always growing”

Jeff Clark, Construction Tech instructor, said for the 22 years he’s been in Enid he has seen ongoing growth and need for more construction tradespeople.

“Enid’s always been growing, always needing more housing, always needing more buildings built,” he said. “There’s never been enough carpenters in Enid. We have crews that drive up every day from out of town because there’s such a lack of tradespeople.”

Clark said he has been seeing a shift of students seeking more careers in construction technology. Starting wages for graduates can range from $14 to $29 per hour.

“We have been making a lot of strides. We’ve been getting more and more contractors. I think we’re getting closer to what we need there, but we still could use a bunch of tradespeople,” Clark said. “They’re quality jobs. They can make a good living. They’re happy. The starting wages for an entry level carpenter have been going up the last few years I’ve noticed.”

Construction technology teaches hands-on training required for entry into the construction trades industry. Skills developed are in the areas of blueprint reading, site layout, estimating, foundation work, framing, interior and exterior work and using both hand and power tools for residential and commercial projects.

“I think our enrollment has been up in all of our programs the last few years,” Clark said.

Pursuing a trade

He said around the time of the pandemic, there began a shift in which students realized college wasn’t the only option for them coming out of high school.

“We’re starting to see a shift. We started seeing this big shift,” Clark said. “I’m getting more and more students that have done a year or two at OSU or OU, or done a year or two at college somewhere, and realize what they’re going to make when they get through the four-year degree versus what they can do coming to Autry.

“So, we’re starting to see quite a few more college students actually coming out of that sector and coming back Autry to pursue a trade.”

He said this generation of students are finishing programs. These students have goals in mind, and many are working toward a dream.

“I hear a lot of criticism of the younger generation, but then I see some incredible young people, too,” Clark said. “They’re different than what we were back in my day. Are they not as hard working? No, it’s not the case. What empowers them and what drives them is a little bit different. They probably like a little bit more instant gratification or quicker gratification.”

Real-world view

Construction technology covers floor and wall framing, blueprint reading, site layout, estimating, foundation work, roof framing/roofing, interior wall finishing, exterior trim, cabinetmaking, among other topics.

“I still get young people that’ve never picked up a tool in their life. We get them used to working in a crew, an environment, being a team,” Clark said. “We start out with safety every year. We do safety.”

He said students move on to learning the tools of the trades that are used in different projects. He said sometimes students apply skills they’ve already learned in a classroom but didn’t know its real-world application.

An example is applying Pythagorean theorem mathematics in roofing, he said.

“In high school they really don’t get it because they don’t know why they need to use it, and now they’re like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I get it.’ You see that light, the switch,” Clark said.

While success for students is the goal, there is a value in learning from mistakes.

“There’s failures that we have to have. There really is. Sometimes I have to pull back,” Clark said. “I can’t hover over them to make it perfect, because next year, when they’re out working for someone, I’m not going to be there to hover over them.”

Clark said in the construction industry there often is talk of a “gray tsunami,” which refers to the amount of older tradespeople leaving the trades and retiring and the lack of new tradespeople to replace them.

“All these trades, whether it’s heating and air, diesel, welding, they’re all great jobs,” Clark said. “We need to be teaching our kids it’s OK to have a trade — instead of going to the college for four years and them coming out and getting a trade. We see that all the time.”

Autry opportunities

As one of 29 CareerTech schools across Oklahoma, Autry offers numerous full-time career programs, short-term continuing education courses and personalized training opportunities.

Full-time career programs at Autry Technology Center run a traditional school calendar, August through May. Autry Tech offers more than 20 full-time programs, enrolling more than 700 high school and adult students each year.

Full-time programs include air conditioning and refrigeration technology, automotive technology, business and office services, clinical medical assisting, collision repair technology, computer-aided drafting and design, computerized machining (CNC machining), construction technology, cosmetology, culinary arts, dental assisting, diesel technology, early care and education, graphic arts, health careers, information technology, medical front office, robotics and electronic automation and welding tech.

Autry Tech also offers five, adult-only, advanced medical programs in areas of MRI, practical nursing, radiography, respiratory care and surgical technology.

In-district high school juniors and seniors can attend a full-time program tuition-free.

The Autry Scholarship is available to recent high school graduates who live in the Autry district or lived in the district as high school seniors and meet enrollment guidelines. Scholarship students may attend during any or all of the three years immediately following high school graduation.

The center has more than 25 career programs and offers a variety of evening and weekend short-term courses and certifications for many diverse career fields.

Autry Tech serves nearly 16,000 individuals each year, including area employees who receive training through the Workforce Development Department that works with more than 500 local businesses each year.

Autry Technology Center boasts 313 high school and 396 adult students, 108 National Technical Honor Society recipients, 100% participation in career and technical student organizations and a 91.71% positive placement for 2023, with 91,71% full-time program graduates having joined the military, become employed or continued their education.

For information about Autry Technology Center, 1201 W. Willow, go to autrytech.edu or call (580) 242-2750.

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