What Is A Non-Traditional Career?

When you hear "Non-traditional" career, it generally applies to careers your gender (boy or girl) does not "traditionally" go into. For girls these broad areas involve technology, trades such as construction and welding, and public services such as police and fire. For boys the areas involve early childhood education such as elementary school teachers, and healthcare careers in the field of nursing. There are many advantages to non-traditional careers, such as the ability to stand out in a field of applicants, and the fact that non-trad careers often pay exceptionally well!

Follow our blog for more info and to learn more about non-trad career events!




Monday, May 21, 2012

Houses fit for Vikings in Forest Grove

When this project came across our desk we just knew we had to share it. Forest Grove High School's construction students have been hard at work this year on building a house. You heard me, building a REAL house. This isn't a theoretical project, it's a home that will be sold as a new construction and used to fund next year's project!

A select group of advanced construction students are gathered each year to work as a team on building a real house. The house this year is special because it will be part of a showcase of homes later this year in Forest Grove, called the Street of Affordable Homes. Taking it's name from Street of Dreams, this showcase will feature 5 homes priced more affordably at $300-470K. The "Viking House", as it is fondly referred to, will be one of the five homes showcased.

While the Viking House is well underway, ground has not even been broken on the other 4 homes built by professional builders. However, when invited for a visit to tour the construction progress, all of the builders had nothing but praise for the efforts of the students. They even joked that they needed to step up their game!

So proud of the Forest Grove high school students who are participating and contributing to their community in this way, and gaining real world experience. Kudos to the team, and to their awesome teacher, Mr. Chris Higginbotham.

Interested in viewing the house? It will be on display during the Street of Affordable Homes showcase July 5-29, 2012. The home's address is 1055 Lilac Street in Forest Grove, Oregon.

Who knows? Maybe it will be the site of your own next residence? At least you'll know it was built with love.

Cheers!

The PCC NTO Team

Find out more info here: http://www.forestgrovenewstimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=132806514965150300

What do software engineers, welders and nurses all have in common?

They were all careers that were highlighted in our 2012 PCC Non-Trad Spring Events!

PCC PAVTEC office held a series of 3 events in April, as part of our NTO (Non-Traditional Outreach) program. The events covered the following career explorations:

For girls: High Tech/Engineering; Construction, Auto Body and Welding; and Fire, EMT and Paramedic.

For boys: Healthcare specifically Nursing.

We had the assistance of some amazingly talented and passionate PCC staff involved in each of the respective divisions of education. We received very positive feedback from the students and it was particularly inspirational to hear the stories of real students and PCC instructors who had overcome various obstacles in their lives to continue their education and do something meaningful to them.

The format for the events was all the same: In the morning, the students did hands-on activities, facilities tours and heard small presentations given by faculty. Afterward, we gathered together in a commons area to have lunch, chit chat amongst ourselves, and to hear stories from students and staff about their real life experiences with the respective career fields.

The events took place at all three PCC campuses: Sylvania, Rock Creek, and Cascade.

Overall we believe it was a fresh experience for the students to not only get a "campus tour" but to hear about some real world advice and stories from people who are in these careers.

PCC will be planning more events for Fall 2012 and/or Spring 2013! We have learned so much from these events and may be narrowing in the focus even more to provide laser-focused attention to career areas that have high demand and/or turnover here in Oregon. Our goal is to provide students with real life info on how they can have a beneficial and stable career in fields that they will be able to find positions in after graduation.

Check out this YouTube video for a fun and energetic summary of the events!



Happy summer and looking forward to Fall 2012!

The NTO Team at PCC