High school shop classes are back and in high demand. The training offers students hands-on exploration.

Many high school shop classes now offer
welding. (Photo by J. Thomas, Unsplash)

High schools around the United States are ramping up their shop classes to help students explore professional trade careers. The hands-on shop class offerings can range from wood to metals to machinery and are designed to let high school students learn what manual work has to offer.

The shift has school districts from big cities to small towns finding innovative ways to "revamp high-school shop classes for the 21st century," reports Te-Ping Chen of The Wall Street Journal. "They are betting on the future of manual skills overlooked in the digital age, offering vocational-education classes that school officials say give students a broader view of career prospects with or without college."

For decades, high schools cut classes and staffing for trade-based learning, which left many trade businesses hurting for skilled labor. To address the shortfall, "local governments, school districts, businesses and voters are investing in shop classes," Chen explains. "Ohio and other states offer schools financial incentives for classes that lead to industry certifications in such high-demand jobs as pharmaceutical technician and pipe fitter."

In Sutherlin, Ore., a small town of 8,524, almost half of its high school students are enrolled in Josh Gary’s woodworking class. "When Gary took over the shop class in 2014, he had 30 students and little equipment," Chen reports. "He bought used tools on Craigslist with his own money and raised funds selling picnic tables he made with students."

With the renewed interest in trade professions, Gary's shop classes "feature laser cutters and computer-assisted routers that enable high-level detail work," Chen writes. "Last year, Sutherlin High opened a $750,000 metal shop. A $375,000 state grant paid for new tools, and $50,000 from Harbor Freight Tools for Schools, a program launched by the tool-retailer’s founder, bought a pickup truck for use by the classes."

Expanded shop classes can let students try out a trade without paying for an expensive vocational program. The classes also give students who don't want to attend college a path for career development. Staci Sievert, a teacher at Seymour Community High School in Seymour, Wis., told Chen, "I just felt like we were shortchanging our kids, our community and our families if we weren’t raising the bar in tech ed." More than 20% of jobs around Seymour are in manufacturing.