PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii –
Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PHNSY & IMF) recently hosted a career-oriented field trip for James Campbell High School students in mid-April as part of its community outreach program with local schools.
The visit gathered 26 students and three teachers from the school’s Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) program that offers students insight in trade industry occupations. During the field trip, representatives from the shipyard’s Production Resource Training Department facilitated the students’ experience with a tour of its welding school including welding demonstrations and an overview of equipment and training facilities used in honing welding trade skills.
Campbell is the largest high school in Hawai’i with roughly 3100 students and the STEAM Academy, the largest program at the school, has roughly 700 students enrolled, according to Tracie Koide, Campbell’s STEAM Academy lead.
“Many of our students are planning to join the construction trades, as the Ewa Beach community has a large number of residents in trades careers,” Koide said. “We hope to have our students who are interested in the trades be exposed to the different trade fields available in Hawai’i, so they are able to find their passion.”
Accompanying the students was Lord Ryan Lizardo, the Director of Work-Based Learning for the Chamber of Commerce, Hawaii. Lizardo belongs to the Sector Partnerships, Education & Workforce Development team where he works closely with James Campbell, Kapolei, Pearl City and Waipahu high schools in creating awareness for workforce development and feels passionate about empowering students to make informed choices for their future.
According to Lizardo, teachers are being asked to provide insight on what’s new in today’s industries through STEAM Academy models but they don’t necessarily have the background to better educate students. Lizardo emphasized how important it is to have industry partners connect with teachers about what’s current and what’s needed in today’s industry.
“I want to connect industry organizations with our school partners to create work-based learning experiences for our youth to learn about the industries they’re passionate about,” Lizardo said. “Internships, field trips, and guest speaking engagements are the types of learning experiences needed so they [the students] can make informed decisions.”
In regards to bringing awareness of these learning experiences to teachers, Koide echoed this key point and highlighted the significance of learning more from industry partners such as PHNSY & IMF.
“These experiences are very valuable as students and teachers are able to hear firsthand what is possible from industry, what is expected, what is lacking, and what is desired,” Koide said. “Thereby, making what we are learning in the classroom more relevant.”
For Sydney Patanapaiboon, a senior at Campbell, learning about the shipyard’s welding trade and apprentice program was an eye-opening experience as she never knew that the shipyard offered so many opportunities.
“It’s so diverse here [at the shipyard]. There’s numerous opportunities. I like that you have many options and that you’re not just limited to one thing,” said Patanapaiboon. “Working here is something I would definitely consider, especially knowing that the shipyard provides you with schooling and a salary at the same time under their apprentice program.”
For PHNSY & IMF senior leaders, the visit was a great way to spark interest in the different types of industry professions available for today’s youth.
“Not everyone has aspirations to attend college, for whatever reason, so this is a way to show the youth of Hawai’i that there are opportunities for them to learn a trade, make it their career, and earn enough money to support a family,” said William Nomana Angelo, Training Administrator Superintendent for Production Resource Training at PHNSY & IMF. “It’s also important to let them know that opportunities do not stop once you become a journeyperson mechanic as Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard affords employees the ability to climb the career ladder and become supervisors, general foremen, branch heads, division heads, and department heads. The opportunities are endless as long as you work hard, build relationships, and believe in yourself.”
PHNSY & IMF is a field activity of NAVSEA and a one-stop regional maintenance center for the Navy’s surface ships and submarines. It is the largest industrial employer in the state of Hawaii, with a combined civilian, military and contractor workforce of approximately 7,100. It is the most comprehensive fleet repair and maintenance facility between the U.S. West Coast and the Far East, strategically located in the heart of the Pacific, being about a week’s steaming time closer to potential regional contingencies in the Indo-Pacific.
Additional information on the Shipyard can be found on social media sites:
Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PearlHarborNavalShipyard?ref=hl
Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/phnsy/
YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=oikFeybsdSM