SCRANTON, Pa. — Ken Stucker felt proud of himself after building his first cabinet. He's a student in Johnson College's carpentry and cabinetmaking program.
"It was a surprise. Growing up, I was always a bookworm. I never thought I'd actually be good at this sort of thing," Stucker said.
Stucker is also a former Marine. He says many of his fellow veterans feel lost after leaving the service. He often encourages his friends to explore technical school as an option.
"Because you can still have that mission accomplishment, that camaraderie, and that final, like concrete work that I think is really good and very important for veterans who were trying to readjust to civilian life."
More and more students like Stucker are forgoing the traditional four-year college experience and opting for trade school instead.
Johnson College has had record enrollment for the last four years. A big draw is the hands-on experience you get here.
Adriana Ruiz is in the veterinary nursing program and learning about rats by physically working with them.
"When they explain things in class, and I don't fully understand it, and then I get to just do it in a lab and ask questions when it's actually in front of me."
For a long time, technical schools weren't presented to many students as an option. Johnson College is ramping up its efforts in that department with mobile training labs.
"It's all about access, right," said Katie Leonard, president and CEO of Johnson College. "Often, we expect people to come to us here at brick and mortar, but really, this takes Johnson College anywhere, whether it's a school district; we can set it up for camps; we can go out to companies and do training."
'We have a variety of different equipment to train students in STEM technologies—mostly electronics, motors, 3-D printers; we have a couple of vacuum formers that will be in here that will be able to make all sorts of different quick molds," said Cole Goldstein, Johnson's mechatronics program director.
The students say some of the best parts of technical school are the jobs waiting for them on the other side.
Just ask Cullen McKenna, the program director for electrical construction technology.
"We can produce 1,000 electricians a year, and it still wouldn't be what we really need, especially with electric cars in the future. There's a never-ending need for electricians."
If you're interested in having one of the mobile training labs come to your school or company, more information is available here.
If you're interested in having one of the mobile training labs come to your school or company, reach out to Johnson College.
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