Simulator gives students experience with different career opportunities

SAVANNAH, Tenn. — One local school had a unique experience to learn about different career opportunities.

In the parking lot of Hardin County High School was a large trailer filled with educational opportunities for the students. The trailer is from an organization called Be Pro Be Proud.

There are many different simulators inside like driving an 18 wheeler, construction work, welding, and much more.

Alison Lewis, the tour manager with Be Pro Be Proud Tennessee, tells us why this is important to them.

“Because 37% of the workforce in the trade skill jobs are retiring out, and they don’t have anybody to replace them,” Lewis said. “A lot of kids don’t have any clue that they can do these jobs, and they come on this truck and try the simulators out and are like, ‘I think I might do that, I am gonna take a class for that.'”

The principal of Hardin County High School, Wes Wilkerson, tried his hand at a construction job. He talked about what this opportunity means for the students.

“So we want students to be enrolled in some sort of post-secondary education, we want them to be enlisted in the military, or we want them to be employed after high school,” Wilkerson said. “This trailer, the Be Pro Be Proud, shows them the different career fields that they could have to be employed. We want to give them those employable skills while they’re here at Hardin County High School.”

We spoke with a few students who were really excited about this opportunity. Lisa Kiesgen, a freshman, said when she first came in, she was nervous and did not know what to do. However, after trying some of it out, she saw how beneficial this can be.

“People came in here and they got to experience it. I think it’s really amazing that we get to do stuff like this and show other peers what they can do when they go out of high school,” Kiesgen said.

Lily Cox, also a freshman, says she learned a lot from this experience.

“Speaking as a freshman, I’m not really 100% sure what I want to do in my future,” Cox said. “Coming in here and getting to experience all of the different things has really given me ideas for classes and letting me see a bunch of new opportunities.”

Starting in 2016, Be Pro Be Proud is currently in six different states and is trying to keep growing.

Principal Wilkerson says that it is very important for the students get into a bit of a hands on learning environment when it comes to workforce opportunities.

For more news in the Hardin County area, click here.

Simulator gives students experience with different career opportunities - WBBJ TV