One high school in Virginia is celebrating the initiative of high school students that are joining the work force as professionals over the option to take on long term student loans and starting their “out of school” experience with the burden of debt. It was called Signing Day, and to make note of it, the students donned hard hats as a badge of honor.
In Henrico County, Virginia, public school administrators held a ceremony in March of 2018 called “Career and Technical Letter-of-Intent Signing Day.” Mac Beaton, director of Henrico Schools’ Department of Career and Technical Education shared, “This is a celebration of students who are entering the workforce or post-secondary training with a plan. They’ve chosen to maximize their high school opportunities for career training and industry certifications, with an eye on becoming successful and financially secure much earlier in life.”
Coinciding with this celebration, Los Angeles based leak detection equipment manufacturer and training specialists, LeakTronics, shared information about their Swimming Pool Leak Detection Training Program and the newly offered Plumbing Leak Detection Training Program. LeakTronics is the world leader in manufacturing innovative and cutting edge leak detection technologies and has offered online training to students for years with continued success. Students that train on their own time, by simply logging on to the course through the LeakTronics website and learning, have been able to use the tools provided in the Complete Training Package and literally start working immediately in this growing field of demand.
LeakTronics Director of Communications, Joe Dolan, shares, “There is more than just a secondary training course at LeakTronics. We have designed our online course to navigate the learning curves involved in customer psychology, as well as the key details to do a proper leak inspection, getting the job done right and of course, getting paid. Our complete course gives the student all the equipment necessary to not just perform a leak detection, but to literally start and operate their own professional business, and to grow their income to provide a secure future for themselves. We offer the training, and the follow up support to keep them growing. It’s proven time and time again that students who are eager to work can and will succeed with Leaktronics Online Training.”
New Federal laws include swimming pool inspections as a requirement for standard home inspections; a practice most home inspectors are neither equipped nor trained to provide. Forced to hire outside of their abilities, leak detection specialist are in demand for home inspectors, real estate agencies, municipal parks and recreation locations and across the country for people who see regular residential water loss in their pools and simply don’t know where to find the leak or how to repair it.
Beaton stated that the idea for the recognition ceremony was rooted in a constant battle to show the importance of this kind of training. He shared, “We’re always trying to figure out how to address the skills gap when the general mentality of a parent is ‘I want my child to go to college.’ One way to do this is to help them see the value of career and technical education.”
At less than the cost of a college semester, LeakTronics Complete Online Training Programs offer the know-how students need to develop their skills in the leak detection field along with the tools and equipment required to do it right. At the end of their online training, students have the luxury of calling LeakTronics with any on the job questions raised during their new leak detection experiences, being assured that while they may be performing the job solo, they’re never alone in finding the leak.
Student, and now leak detection technician, Arnold Ferrier says, “I never heard of a college student being able to call a professor from an old class with a question. When I couldn’t find a leak in a swimming pool I called LeakTronics and they guided me on the phone and I found the leak in a minute. Best training ever!”
All enrolled online students can also log in to their account at any time after taking the course and review the information they’ve learned for as long as they need to. Students who have purchased the course also receive benefits including insider-only sales on products and upgrades to their equipment kits, not generally available to the standard online shopper.
Even “Dirty Jobs” host Mike Rowe shared a post on his own Facebook page, commenting, “This is the way forward. No attempt to close the skills gap will ever succeed, until or unless we celebrate those who are willing to learn a skill that’s in demand. This is not just a terrific idea, it’s a model for every other school in the country … Here’s hoping others will follow Henrico’s lead.”
