Drafting, interior decorating, health and medical assistant, marketing, and police science training all under one roof. Sound too good to be true? These are just a few of the 25 courses of study offered to the Wilkes-Barre Area Career and Technical Center’s (WBACTC) nearly 800 students.
    In many of the career focuses, students graduate with industry-accredited certifications, which can immediately land them a well-paying career.
Or, WBACTC doesn’t have to be the last stop on a student’s educational journey. Students and their families alike often make the mistake thinking that matriculating to college is out of reach.
     “If families could only understand what opportunities are available for their sons and daughters, including the option to send them
to a four-year college...,” Acting Administrative Director Peter Halesey said.
    With the option to either enter the workforce or continue education through a two-year college, four-year college, union apprenticeship, or technical institute, each student is in control of his or her own future.
    College prep courses can be taken in        combination with training at WBACTC. Students considering college upon graduation have the option to continue taking college prep courses at their parent school. The student, parents,  instructors, guidance counselor, and college/university all work together to ensure a successful transition from high school to college graduation.
    “It’s giving them [students] an opportunity,” said Halesey.
     Vo-tech has numerous alliances with colleges and technical institutes, including King’s College, The Culinary Institute of America, Temple, and the Universal Technical Institute.
    Career and technical training can be completed in as little as two years. Students who are enrolled for three years typically participate in on-the-job training for their senior year. Often, on-the-job training can land students a career before they even graduate.
    The first step is to become informed. Students can get more information from their schools’ guidance counselors or by scheduling a visit to WBACTC. Most often, students give up study halls and a few elective classes.
      “Some students might succeed more at a vocational school than at a regular high school, but they don’t get a chance,” Halesey said.
For more information call 570-822-4131 or visit online at www.wbactc.org.

    Celebrating its 40th anniversary, West Side Career and Technology Center (West Side CTC) was the first licensed vocational school in Pennsylvania. While continuing its pledge to “build careers one student at a time”, West Side CTC currently enrolls more than 500 students.
    “We will always have a small school focus,” said Director of Recruiting and Marketing Lorri Vandermark.
    The school’s prolonged success is due in part to its ability to continuously evolve to better meet student and community career needs.
    “To fit what students want, the school is designing a brand new learning kitchen for the culinary program that will allow us to almost double class capacity,”  Vandermark said.
    Although relatively new to the administrative staff, Vandermark is the proud alumna of a career and technology center.
    ”It truly is like a family,” she said.
    The school is unique in that almost the entire student body receives both a technical as well as academic education. This gives instructors additional insight into each student’s unique needs and career goals. Advanced academic courses are available to meet the requirements for students who plan on continuing their education.
    In total, 15 programs are offered and nearly 75% of them offer industry certifications, enabling students to stand out in the job market and potentially earn higher starting wages.
    ”Our goal is to make our students more marketable,” said Vandermark.
    Many local employers hire West Side CTC graduates because it produces highly skilled and trained employees. Due to its tremendous student employment program, students are sometimes hired by the time they graduate.
    Training from West Side CTC can provide substantial employment for students while   furthering their education in college or as a career to fall back on.
    “In today’s economy, everyone wants something to fall back on,” said Vandermark.
    West Side CTC will continue to adapt to meet the needs of students and employers in our region. Night classes for adult training and certifications are in the initial planning stages.
    Administrative Director Elizabeth J. Ellis’s
outlook for the next five years includes that West Side CTC will become “one of the major providers of employees in Luzerne County.”
    For more information, visit West Side CTC online at www.wsctc.net or call 570-288-8493.