Last month, the Charlottesville Albemarle Technical Education Center (CATEC) celebrated the graduation of its most recent class… and Red Wing Charlottesville was excited to be a part of that event!
About CATEC
CATEC is a regional technical education center that offers an alternative path to gain skills and experience, as well as a great job, to high school students and adults. Many of Charlottesville’s hardest working folks came from CATEC, and that’s a legacy to be proud of.
The Sign-To-Work Event
As a reward for signing their job offers to work at local businesses throughout Albemarle County and Charlottesville, Ten graduates from CATEC were given a little help from other local businesses. Red Wing Shoes provided $150 gift cards to the graduates. After all…when they’re working hard at the new gig, they’re gonna need boots that work hard for them. More on the CATEC event below:
Red Wing Shoes provided $150 gift certificates for work-certified shoes. Building and Electric trades students received toolbelts from Diamondback Toolbelts.
CATEC Director Stephanie Carter said it’s all part of the school’s mission to see students succeed when they leave the classroom.
“It’s our goal really to strengthen our students individual pipelines and preparing them so they leave us ready to go out and meet all their career goals,” she said.
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ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. (WVIR) – Students from the Charlottesville-Albemarle Technical Education Center had their very own “signing day” Thursday, May 20, but it had nothing to do with sports. Many of them are celebrating their new placement with full-time jobs.
“We’re celebrating their employment and the start of their career path into the world,” CATEC Director Stephanie Carter said.
Carter said students like William Gilbert and Daniel Snoddy, both of whom were part of Thursday’s celebration, are in high demand.
“One of the things that became really clear to us during the pandemic is really a place where we’re really training a lot of essential workers. As the economy reopens and everything starts moving forward in a more normal way, the students here are in really high demand for employment,” she said.
The two will work at Southern Air, an HVAC, plumbing, and electrical company as part of the school’s placement program.
“A lot of people lost their job during the pandemic, and for me to be 18, still in high school and have a full-time job, that’s pretty good,” Snoody said. “Definitely feel blessed and lucky to be a part of this.”
Employers like Southern Air say they’re ready for the job ahead.
“That’s where we get our best employees from. It’s just basically them graduating from the CTE programs and coming to work with us full time,” Sierria Phillips, who works for the company, said.
Gilbert said it’s his teacher who deserve the credit.
“Working with Mr. Trimmer and his class has taught me a lot about basic electrical and basic construction just overall. We learn a little bit of anything. He’s taught me a lot of the basics to get me an internship at Southern Air,” Gilbert said. “I’m super glad that I’ve gotten this opportunity.”
As you can see, the graduates were thrilled to be offered a full-time job, and the employers were excited to have well-trained graduates. Another job well done by CATEC! Check out some of the pictures below.
Contact Red Wing Charlottesville
We were proud to work with CATEC and sponsor these future workers at the start of their career. Nothing is more important to us than giving back to the hard workers of Charlottesville that have shown us such loyalty since we opened and kept us in business through the pandemic.
If there’s anything we can help you with, get in touch. You can Contact us online, call us at 434-529-6761 or message us on Facebook. We look forward to speaking with you!