Mike Augenstein, director of workforce solutions at Marion Technical College, tells high school seniors in the Delaware Area Chamber of Commerce Career Club about working with electrical outlets and described the need for those positions at large facilities like hospitals.

Glenn Battishill | The Gazette

Sarah Moore and Alpha Group staff (left) and a member of Alpha Group talk to high school seniors about what kind of careers they are interested in and what kinds of jobs they’ll be able to do without attending college or the military.

Glenn Battishill | The Gazette

On Friday, seniors from Buckeye Valley High School and Hayes High School toured facilities at Sarah Moore and The Alpha Group as part of the Delaware Area Chamber of Commerce Career Club program to get them hands-on experiences at different jobs.

Jennifer Pollard, the college and career counselor at Hayes, said the goal of the club is to give seniors who aren’t interested in college or the military an idea of what jobs exist in the workforce.

“The goal is to work with seniors who are not sure what they want to do and work with that population so that when they graduate, hopefully we can line them up with jobs based on what we’re doing with them,” Pollard said.

Over seven months, the club will visit manufacturing jobs, skilled-trade jobs like plumbing and electrical, social services like Sarah Moore and The Alpha Group, as well as take part in interview and finance trainings.

“They don’t know what they don’t know,” Pollard said. “They don’t know all the job opportunities that are available just in social services. Today, they saw what culinary does, what maintenance does, what the health care aspect does. They heard the stories from people who work there, (and) many have a high school diploma. It’s super hands-on and for these kids. That’s their jam.”

Pollard said she’s excited to be able to provide opportunities to those students.

“My job title is college and career counselor, and the college piece is something I feel I’ve got down at this point, but 40% of our kids are not going onto some kind of post secondary program, so I want to focus on that 40% and make sure I’m serving them too,” Pollard said. “(I hope they leave the program) knowing what opportunities they have available to them and making connections at each of these places … (and) building those relationships with the adults they’re interacting with and hopefully they get a great paying job at the end of this and are able to establish themselves.”

Delaware Area Chamber of Commerce President Holly Quaine said “everybody is worried about workforce,” and it’s up to the private sector to step up and reach these students.

“Let’s get those kids who are kind of lost, let’s get them hands on with a wide variety of careers they don’t know,” Quaine said. “It’s not their fault they are 18, everything else is their decision. Let’s teach them other stuff because we need these kids in the workforce. … what we do for a living defines us”

Quaine said she was enjoying seeing the students work hands on at Sarah Moore and The Alpha Group.

“Some kids in this class are absolutely awesome,” Quaine said. “They’re interested. They’re respectful. They’re engaged.

James Wolford, a senior at Hayes High School, said the Chamber Career Club has been “amazing.”

“Me, personally, I don’t feel like college is a place for me, but this gives me opportunities to see jobs I can potentially go into without having to go to college,” Wolford said Friday. “I liked being able to see what people do for their lines of work.”

Anna Dolan, a senior at Buckeye Valley High School, said the club has been “very helpful” for her.

“It’s nice seeing what other jobs are out there and there are things I didn’t expect to be good at,” Dolan said. “I always assumed I’d get a simple job … this has shown me other jobs I’d be capable of doing. I don’t really know what I’m going to do after high school, so I thought this would help me see what’s exactly out there to do.”

The club will meet again next month to learn about careers such as HVAC, welding, auto tech and construction.

Glenn Battishill can be reached at 740-413-0903.