Career ready: West Alabama high school seniors sign up for jobs, apprenticeships
Jasmine Hollie
More than 80 high school seniors had a reason to celebrate Wednesday. Those seniors are leaving high school with sold post-graduation employment plans.
Students and families gathered at the Tuscaloosa Career and Technology Academy for the annual West Alabama Regional Signing Day, organized by West Alabama Works, the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama's workforce development arm.
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The ceremony honored the students as they officially signed up for jobs or career technical education apprenticeships after high school graduation.
Employers like Mercedes Auto Tech Program, Skilled Trades of West Alabama, Lear, Schnellecke Logistics, Mercedes-Benz U.S. International Mechatronics, Premier Service Co. and more provided the career opportunities.
"We’re so excited to be able to celebrate our students’ success once again,” said Donny Jones, who serves as the West Alabama Works executive director and chief operating officer of the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama.
“This is one of my favorite events we put on each year because it brings everything, we do from virtual reality TransfrVR headsets in the school systems, WOW, WOW mini, WOW Varsity, and WOW 2.0, all to this moment (Regional Signing Day) to bring awareness of student success through apprenticeships, career pathways, and internships,” Jones said.
Some of the honorees earned their job or apprenticeship offers through WOW 2.0, an event for high school seniors that was held April 12 at Shelton State Community College. The event is a continuation of West Alabama Works’ annual Worlds of Work (WOW) event for eighth-graders. The events help West Alabama students learn about work opportunities in the region.
"In the Tuscaloosa City Schools we aspire to make sure every graduate is either enrolled, enlisted or employed," said Mike Daria, Tuscaloosa City Schools superintendent.
"This is a day of celebration because today is all about employment. Today is about putting young people to work and this is exciting." Daria said.
A total of 14 schools within six West Alabama school systems were represented during Wednesday's ceremony. Students from Tuscaloosa City Schools, the Tuscaloosa County School System, along with students from Greene, Bibb, Hale, and Fayette counties were among those honored one-by-one as they signed on the dotted line for apprenticeships or full-time jobs.
Reach Jasmine Hollie at JHollie@gannett.com.