High school graduation is just around the corner and graduates face one of the biggest decisions of their life.
Which way does one go? The college route or the job route?
If you aren’t keen on college, this may be of some interest to you.
According to the Associated General Contractors of South Texas, the annual pay of all construction workers in the United States averaged 10% more than the average for all private sector employees.
Construction worker’s pay in Texas averaged almost 62 thousand dollars, that’s 12% more than all private sector employees.
There are a number of high school seniors who have a jump start on getting a job. In fact, they’ve already got one.
Calallen High School is one school in the Coastal Bend that has a pilot program. It’s called CAT, or Construction Apprenticeship Training Program.
We talked to a couple of kids who are in the program.
"Thanks to Calallen’s CAT program they really prepped us for the interviewing and resume and all that so it’s pretty good stuff," said Orlando Cavazos.
"The program itself was a very good opportunity to get out there in the work force cause jobs like this don’t really choose people like this it was like a really good opportunity and I took it," said Rafael Cabrialez.
But what if you are graduating and don’t have any experience?
There are a lot of opportunities that are cheap and don’t take long to develop technical skills.
Del Mar College
Craft Training Center of the Coastal Bend
South Texas Vocational School
Or employer direct, which means you go into an office and interview with a company.
To obtain a job in the construction industry, you must be 18 years old and drug free.