PA HomePage.com Article

Full Transcript:

DIMOCK TOWNSHIP, SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Hands-on learning takes on a whole new meaning in Susquehanna County.

Recently a career center in our region announced it’s adding a CDL class to their curriculum and what’s a class without a classroom? Carpentry students are playing a big role in a much bigger project.

It’s all hands on deck at the Susquehanna County Career and Technology Center (SCCTC). Building trade students are working on the new classroom for the school’s CDL program.

“We have to make sure all the walls are set on the outside and make sure that they will stay there. We have to put on our plastic, our zip tape and then our siding,” Montrose Area High School junior Nathan Rossey said.

“We love to get our students out of the classroom and get them on the job site, learning hands-on instead of learning out of the book,” SCCTC building trade instructor Gary Fenton said.

This modular building has been donated by Signature Building Systems in Moosic. It was placed here on Wednesday after several other students worked on it before the sections were connected here.

“We have two classrooms set up here for the CDL program,” SCCTC executive director Alice Davis said.

Davis says in Susquehanna County, the natural gas industry is bustling and drivers are needed.

“This is what we’re looking for. We’re giving the employers what they need and giving the individuals the adults’ job training that they really want,” Davis said.

Two months ago, the center announced the program. Cabot Oil and Gas, Meshoppen Stone, Signature Building Systems, Adam Diaz and Robert Heat are helping to get the program up and running.

“We can provide the training and they’re willing to help us with the facility, so it’s a win-win,” Davis said.

Part of the classroom extends outside. The training course is where students will be able to learn the ropes behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle.

“We had three different size trucks donated,” Davis said.

The trucks will be used below the indoor classroom. It will be a paved lot with different obstacles for training and testing for a CDL license. It will take students a couple more weeks to add the final touches before the classes are held this fall.

“As you keep going, you keep learning and it’s definitely worth it,” Rossey said.

Building trade students spend a couple hours each day at the site. The CDL class will offer all you need to know to pass the state licensing test including electronic log booking.

The Susquehanna County Career and Technology Center is currently accepting applications for those interested in the program.