Herzog Contracting promotes industrial careers to students
Apr. 10—Herzog Contracting hosted its annual senior day on Wednesday, showing students opportunities in the industrial and manufacturing industries.
The event is designed for area seniors, however all grades are encouraged to attend.
Kristi Bailey, director of communication and marketing with the Chamber of Commerce, said St. Joseph has a need for a wide array of jobs.
"Industrial maintenance, wedding, skilled manufacturing, information technology," Bailey said. "There are a lot of opportunities with our larger companies for students that are getting ready to graduate high school."
As one generation of skilled workers retires, companies are depending on the next generation of students to come in and take over the industry.
Adrian Prestiege, a student attendee, said the event went well.
"We've gone through all the stuff inside talking to all the mechanics and stuff on the welding side of stuff," said Prestiege.
Prestiege and student Austin Butler explained how they learned about a lot of different aspects of the industry. including safety, running equipment, running computers and more.
Butler said senior day helped him see the different opportunities he has when he gets older. When asked what their desired career would be, both young men shared similar answers.
"I also want to be a field mechanic," Butler said.
Aside from field mechanics, Prestiege would also consider welding or even running equipment. Butler said he could also see himself getting into operating the heavy machinery.
"It has good pay and it doesn't seem to be too hard to do," Butler said.
Both students took away some important lessons at the event, including the importance of keeping this industry alive.
"There are benefits because American culture is constantly changing and constantly building things," Butler said. "More people, supply and demand, railroads might be breaking down ... so we don't have bad things happen."
Butler and Prestiege could both see themselves working for Herzog in the future. For Butler, he's excited to see all the opportunities Herzog offers.
"There's so many opportunities that you might not want one thing, but there's always another thing you can do," he said.
Bailey said manufacturing jobs are very rewarding. From her experience talking with students who have entered the industry, all of them are satisfied.
"They don't have a lot of debt going out of school. There's some, of course, education that (is) needed, technical school training, apprenticeships, but they don't have a ton of that and they make a lot of money quickly," she said.
Many students she knows have also utilized Hillyard Technical Center and she hopes to see students using more resources once they become available.
"They've learned things at Hilliard Tech and that they've been able to use what they've learned, they've been able to use right on the job right after high school graduation," she said. "There's some more opportunities for students after high school as well. Hillyard Tech has an expansion happening, but Missouri Western has (the Convergent Technology Alliance Center) opening. So there's a lot of opportunities for more learning in the industrial area."
She encourages students and recent graduates to check out the Chamber website's jobs page.
"You can go to it. It has like, the top 30 employers in town and it will tell you right there how many jobs are open at each place," Bailey said.
In the fall, the Chamber of Commerce will host similar events called Manufacturing Day and the My Success event. For those interested, contact the Chamber for more information.
