Alabama schools have taught career tech courses for decades but are now packing more value into what students learn by making the courses more like jobs.

The effort follows a growing recognition of the need to serve students who might not pursue a four-year college degree but can master the skills that are in strong demand in Alabama’s changing economy.

At the Montgomery Preparatory Academy for Career Technologies, students in grades 10-12 learn building science, welding, electrical technology, heating and air conditioning, industrial systems, health science and other skilled trades for high-demand fields.

MPACT occupies part of what was once Montgomery Mall but carries no reminder of that inside. Gleaming hallways lead to spacious learning centers that are decked out with sturdy work tables, tools, machines and safety gear.

Classes are 90-minute “shifts” that blend instruction and project-based learning. Students apply for admission and interview with the instructors who teach the majors they choose.

MPACT Principal Marsha Baugh said the simulated workplace approach drives home important lessons.

“They get off that bus, they come in, they clock in, they go straight to work,” Baugh said.

“Every program is run like its own company. They have company names. They have company logos. They have an organizational chart. They all have jobs.”

The simulated workplace model is an initiative of the Alabama Department of Education. Josh Laney, senior director for workforce development at the department, said the initiative is in its fifth year and adds 10 schools a year. Participating schools get a $50,000 grant for professional development for teachers, time clock systems and other materials. The grant can help pay for upgrades to equipment to match industry standards.

Laney said the workplace approach builds essential values that are as vital as the technical knowledge.

“Whenever I go and meet with any company of any industry of any size, the first thing that they tell me is a problem for them in hiring and retaining employees is the employability skills,” Laney said. “It’s not the technical skills.

“Most of them will say, ‘If I can get somebody that will show up on time, show up every day, pass a drug test, get along with other people and put up their cell phones, I’ll teach them how to do what I need them to do.’ “

The drive to offer students a chance to obtain the skills and mindset sought by employers is a major focus of two-year colleges.

Jeff Lynn, vice chancellor for workforce and economic development for the Alabama Community College System, said manufacturing makes up a significantly larger share of Alabama’s economy than it does in most states. Lynn said two-year colleges are promoting more communication and collaboration with manufacturers and other employers. That helps ensure that students have a chance to learn the skills and industry certifications that are in demand. It also sheds light on the quality of jobs and workplace conditions, which are surprising to some, he said.

“A lot of people don’t realize what we manufacture in the state of Alabama,” Lynn said. “It’s pretty cool to find out what’s in your backyard, that you didn’t know that maybe they made that pharmaceutical product, or maybe they made that automobile, or how clean it is, and what great salaries and great benefits and great retirement opportunities.”

Lynn said every community college in the state is developing the ability to do occupational forecasting for the counties that they serve, compiling data on the highest demand and highest wage jobs.

“We’re using data like we’ve never done before to better prepare our students, take care of our companies and grow our economy,” Lynn said.

At MPACT, the Montgomery school system’s career tech school, building science and construction students learn the gamut of skills needed for residential and commercial projects, like framing, roofing and installing sheetrock and cabinets. They learn to operate a computer-controlled router.

“The more skills I teach them, the more marketable they become,” building science teacher David Hartman said. “It just increases their opportunities.”

MPACT students earn industry credentials in their majors and in workplace safety that will be important additions to their resumes.

Building science major Kashia Sadler built a dining table and chair set for her grandmother, an example of the creativity the course allows. Sadler, a senior at Lanier High School, said she would prefer to spend her entire school day at MPACT.

“I just like to create things,” she said.

Hartman says Sadler, like most of his students, will be job-ready when she graduates. Sadler has the skills to go immediately to work in a cabinet shop, Hartman said.

Sadler has her sights set on a career in architecture.

Baugh said many MPACT students plan to pursue a profession that will require four years or more of college. MPACT’s medical science major, for example, attracts aspiring doctors, veterinarians and nurses.

Kristopher Finuf, a senior at Carver High School and electrical technology major at MPACT, sees the course as a step toward his goal of serving as combat engineer in the U.S. military.

“By having more experience I can better do my job when I’m in the field as well as later on in life,” Finuf said.

Karla Thompson, a Carver senior and electrical technology major, plans to study engineering at Alabama A&M University. She hasn’t picked an engineering field but is confident in her aptitude.

“I’ve always liked working with my hands,” said Thompson, who added that she likes working on her car.

Rick Robinson, who teaches the electrical technology course, said it accommodates the college-bound, those aiming for a military career and those who want to go straight to work after high school. Some senior students work for employers in a co-op program.

Robinson said graduates will understand what it takes to enter the workforce as reliable, valued employees, like showing up early and prepared every day.

“It puts them ahead of a lot of adult society right now, before they even graduate,” Robinson said.

Baugh said the school has a valuable connection with employers and the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce.

“The programs that we selected to have here at MPACT were based on what was high-demand, high-wage earning in the River Region,” Baugh said. “We continue to have employers want to come and speak with our students. They want to tell them about the opportunities that are out there.”

Baugh said experts from the private sector tell the school what it is doing right, what it needs to change and how to make work environments realistic.

“They tell us, ‘This piece of equipment is out of date. You need to upgrade this. Nobody uses this anymore.’ Those are things we need to know,” Baugh said.

The school is adding a course in cabinet making because its advisors from the private sector told them there was a shortage of cabinet builders, Baugh said.

Welding and metal fabrication teacher James Purifoy first learned welding as a student at Dallas County High School and worked as a pipe welder. Purifoy tells his students about their opportunities, including the chance to travel and work in other states. He stresses safety and “soft skills,” like how to fill out an application and handle a job interview.

Purifoy said he’s learned to tailor his teaching style to students who need encouragement and patience.

“This is a right now generation,” Purifoy said. “If it don’t come right away, they really get frustrated. So, I take the approach of just really being out here with them. Not telling them to go do this but just be out here with them, coaching them.”

MPACT’s selection process helps match students with their interests and increases the likelihood that they will thrive, Baugh said. Students from all Montgomery high schools tour MPACT when they are ninth-graders. If they like what they see and hear, they fill out an application.

Baugh said the staff scrutinizes applications like an employer with a job vacancy.

“Is it neat? Did they spill their drink on it one night and still turn it in like that? We look at those things because that’s what employers are going to do. Many of them submit a resume along with their application, which is fabulous,” Baugh said.

MPACT teachers visit the high schools to interview students about the majors they listed on their applications.

“If they are interested in electrical, welding and building science, all three of those instructors are going to interview that student,” Baugh said. “And then, a lot of them find out that, ‘You know what, I thought electrical was my first choice but actually I think I like building science the best.’ It actually gives them the opportunity to get into the right program for them.”

Laney, the senior director for workplace development for the state Department of Education, said there are about 60 career tech schools like MPACT around the state. Most, like MPACT, serve students from multiple high schools.

“It’s a matter of efficiency,” Laney said. “Some of the programs are very expensive. The equipment is very expensive. The teachers are extremely difficult to find because we are training students in high-demand, high-wage, high-skill occupations, which means that the people who know how to train in that could also be out in the real world making a lot more money than a public school teacher makes.”

Laney said the emphasis on career tech in public schools is not new. What appears to be changing, he says, is more recognition by parents and the public of the value of the programs.

“I can build all the finest technical training programs but if Mama doesn’t believe that’s what is best for her baby, they won’t sign up for it,” Laney said. “So, it’s as much a cultural shift and the beginnings of a recognition by the general public and mostly our parents and our students that, hey, there are real, high quality careers out here that don’t require a four-year degree.”

The prevalent problem of students graduating from universities with degrees that don’t lead to jobs and saddled with debt has raised the profile of career tech, Laney said.

“You can pick up any newspaper any day and hear about the difficulties of people trying to pay back student loans,” Laney said. “It just doesn’t make good mathematical sense.”