Note: This column appears in the July 2022 edition of Great Seal Living.

Job placement is a big buzzword in career tech education these days. Ross and Pickaway counties can be very pleased with our local career and technology center's job in that area.

Now, you can take my words with a grain of salt since I'm a member of the Board of Education at Pickaway-Ross, but the proof is in the data.

While some of them will be attending post-secondary classes in the fall, many are already working in their field.

One hundred eighty seniors are on job placement with 135 employers this year - nearly 50,000 hours worked. Pickaway-Ross students will likely have made more than $1 million at jobs they found through placement during the school year.

Automotive Tech, Diesel & Heavy Truck, Electrical Technology, Outdoor Power, and Visual Communication & Design lead the way with placement, but even more will be earning their credentials in the coming weeks. For example, cosmetology students will soon take state board exams and enter full-time jobs after passing those tests.

Credentialing is where students shine brightest. Here are a few examples from different programs:

Thirty-four of Zane Trace's Information Technology students earned 77 technology certifications. One freshman earned six certifications in his first year, and 20 aviation students are TRUST certified - an FAA requirement for recreational drone flyers. At Unioto, 151 IT students earned 240 technology certifications.

Seven of 10 Commercial Carpentry seniors are enrolled in a Department of Labor-approved Commercial Carpentry Apprenticeship Program. The program includes:

• Free college classes and credits.
• Insurance.
• Retirement plans.
• An annuity worth several hundred thousand dollars when they retire.

In addition, 90 percent of the RAMTEC program seniors were on job placement in companies such as PPG, Tykma Laser Systems, Riffle Machine Works, TS Tech, and Sofidel.

Networking and Cybersecurity also shine with six students on job placement in the past year, including one who picked up one of the most challenging jobs in a local technology company and another working as an intern at the same company.

The Visual Communication and Design program had students working for SVC Network, Atomic Speedway, DNA Productions, Printex, Chillicothe Signs and Screen Printing, and Sonnie's Sports Plus.

Five Law and Public Safety seniors work in local fire departments and private security.

On the Agriculture side, 18 students (nine each from Westfall and Logan Elm) earned the State FFA Degree, and three Logan Elm students earned American FFA degrees. Westfall was named an Ohio FFA Gold Medal Chapter.

That's not just a recent trend, as Pickaway-Ross regularly churns out students who meet our local workforce's needs. The employers value the energy and know-how of the students. In many cases, students step right into full-time employment where they've already been working.

But it's not just seniors getting placed. Offers are pouring in for juniors to begin summer jobs that will eventually become job placement during their senior year.

For example, 15 Electrical program students were hired by IBEW in April. Several juniors from Carpentry, Diesel & Heavy Truck, Precision Welding, Health Administration, Health Sciences (Nursing/STNA), Visual Communication and Design, Networking & Cyber Security, Cosmetology, and Early Childhood Education have landed jobs either through job fairs or employers simply calling.

This job placement is an excellent tribute to the instructors who train the students with the necessary skills and the employers who spot those skills and get them on the path to a career to contribute to the local economy. They know and trust the education and training of Pickaway-Ross students.

It's a partnership that wins over and over again in our region. It could win for you if you're an employer out there.

Next year is shaping up as another great year for Pickaway-Ross. Fifteen of the 18 programs are already full at the main campus, and 519 juniors will attend classes or magnet programs in the 2022-23 school year.

And that doesn't even count what Pickaway-Ross is doing in Adult Education. There's plenty more where that program is concerned, but that's another topic for another day.

Mike Throne is president and CEO of the Chillicothe Ross Chamber of Commerce and a board member at Pickaway-Ross. He also co-hosts the Feels Like Home podcast. You can reach him at mthrone@chillicotheohio.com.