Employees Backed By A Warranty

Steve Stinebuck, a Winton Woods High School senior, pours mortar during a masonry lab project at Scarlet Oaks. Photo by Greg Harrison

It is. And it's being done locally.

"Just as highly reputable companies stand behind their products and services, we too are accountable for the quality of our programs and the ability of our graduates," says Ann Jordan, manager of career development for Great Oaks Institute of Technology and Career Development. It's called the Great Oaks Warranty and is indicative of the new vocational education approaches being introduced in Warren, Butler, Clermont and Hamilton counties. It works like this:

If, during the first year on the job, a graduate does not meet an employer's expectations in a guaranteed competency area, Great Oaks will retrain the graduate at no charge to the employer, provided the employee was hired through the Great Oaks Campus Placement Program.

Multi-campus Great Oaks prepares students in more than 50 different career majors. After attending Great Oaks, students can choose to continue their career education at a college or technical school, or to join the workforce.

Students apply for admission through their affiliated or home high school and attend a Great Oaks campus in their junior and senior years.

"Students complete their chosen option with a working knowledge of the technical and practical applications used in their chosen field," says Jon Quatman, dean of instruction for Great Oaks Institute of Technology and Career Development.

In the months preceding enrollment, students are invited to visit a Great Oaks Career Development Center during the day and attend open houses with their families in the evening. During the open houses, area businesses make presentations to students and their parents on the employment needs at their companies and talk about salary levels, health benefits, tuition-reimbursement plans and more.

The curriculum at Great Oaks is organized into eight career clusters, or paths, and is driven by the technical skills and personal qualities and characteristics businesses in Greater Cincinnati have said are important.

Career clusters is a broad-based approach where students acquire skills for the career of their choice and, at the same time, receive academic training that can help them in any occupation. Career clusters include areas such as: art, printing and communications technology; aviation; business technology and marketing; construction; cosmetology; hotel management; environmental science and agriculture; and many other fields.

The most important element of any academic program for students today is flexibility. "The knowledge and skills that allow a student to transfer to another occupation are essential components of our program," says Clifford Migal, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Great Oaks.

For example, a student who is interested in working on diesel engines enrolls in the Industrial Diesel Mechanics career major. "But he or she leaves the program with a strong background in electronics, physics, welding, computers, heavy math and on-the-job experiences that offer work-ready skills highly sought after in a range of employment settings," Migal said.

Justin Lehnert, senior from Mason, renovates a classroom wall at Scarlet Oaks. Justin is in the Carpentry program. Photo by Jo Kovach

In their senior year, students with a 95 percent attendance record and overall B average have an opportunity to serve an internship or apprenticeship at a business in their chosen field.

Take the electrical trade, for example."The electrical trade's requirements evolve so rapidly that specific knowledge and skills must be continually updated," said Gary Wilson, president of the Independent Electrical Contractors of Greater Cincinnati. IEC offers a registered apprenticeship program, successful completion of which leads to career paths including journeyperson, supervisor, estimator, project manager, superintendent and business ownership.

Business, industry and labor play an integral part in the successful school-to-career transition, from recruitment to training to placement.

"We have found that the work-based learning site presents a very honest, objective assessment of student performance. If there is need for improvement in a given area, the business partner continues to work with the student to sharpen the skill," said David Spears, Commercial/Residential Electricity lab instructor at the Scarlet Oaks campus.

The expectations are high, but so are the rewards.

"Results of a survey conducted by Great Oaks in March 1996, show that 96 percent of the class of 1995 was employed, in the military or pursuing further education," Jordan said.