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THE SUMMER PROGRAM’S sessions incorporate hands-on workshops, mobile training opportunities, and virtual reality technology that simulate a workshop or job site.Three courses were offered according to the student’s grade levels. Juniors and seniors could earn OSHA 10 certification in welding, freshmen and sophomores could take an introductory course in welding and middle school students were offered a virtual welding course.
August 8, 2023
By Stepheny Gehrig
This summer, middle and high school students were given the opportunity to learn trades through the Harbor Freight Tools for Schools program hosted at La Mirada High School.
La Mirada High hosted training courses that specialized in welding beginning on June 5 and running through July 19.
Earning school credits and a paycheck, students were able to learn trades such as welding, automotive technology, construction, solar installation or carpentry at six different high schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
“Harbor Freight Tools for Schools, which catalyzed and funds the Los Angeles County Skilled Trades Summer Program, aims to change that as part of its mission to increase understanding, support, and investment in skilled trades education in U.S public high schools,” according to a press release from Harbor Freight Tools for Schools.
Three courses were offered according to the student’s grade levels. Juniors and seniors could earn OSHA 10 certification in welding, freshmen and sophomores could take an introductory course in welding and middle school students were offered a virtual welding course.
At La Mirada High, the middle school students welded barbecues and made mosaic tables, while the high school students mentored the middle school students and worked on advanced-level projects to earn their credentials.
The summer program’s sessions incorporate hands-on workshops, mobile training opportunities, and virtual reality technology that simulate a workshop or job site. High school participants can work toward industry-based credentials while earning class credit, and most can earn up to $15.50 an hour.
Only 11 of the 86 schools in the LAUSD offer trades such as construction or woodworking. The program sponsored by Harbor Freight enables other pathways for trades to become accessible to students. Six high schools in Los Angeles County, including La Mirada High , were sponsored to host this program, each with various trades offered.
Not only inspiring a new set of skills for students, there are high hopes that students who participate in the Harbor Freight Tools for Schools program continue their education in welding by joining the four-year welding program offered at La Mirada High taught by Brent Tuttle.
It is through Tuttle, and the excellent standing of the school’s welding program, that Harbor Freight offered the program.
“Harbor Freight Tools for Schools was aware of the outstanding program at La Mirada High School in part because welding teacher Brent Tuttle is a 2020 winner of the Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence,” said a representative from Harbor Freight Tools for Schools.
There are plans for the program to return for its third year at La Mirada High in 2024.. The Harbor Freight Tools for Schools program is free to students and available to all students in the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District. In order to apply for next year’s program, contact La Mirada High School.
