High school graduates across Hancock County are prepared with a trade and ready to earn a living, thanks to a successful heating, ventilation and air conditioning course at Greenfield-Central High School.
HVAC will always be a career in high demand, local administrators say, and Greenfield-Central High School prepares students with the certificates needed to excel in the career. Coming later this fall will be an expanded program upon the completion of the Hancock County Career Center.
For Jason Kendall, GCHS teacher, the future is exciting for students who love to work with their hands and troubleshoot mechanical problems.
Kendall, who spent years in the industry himself, is in his second year teaching HVAC at GCHS and loves what he does.
“Knowing that I’m teaching them a skill that’s going to sustain them their whole life,” he said of what he appreciates the most. “It’s really a career– you can really make a good income, and we know air conditioning and heating will always be there.”
Career and technical training is in a time of transition locally as the new Hancock County Career Center (HC3) nears completion. Currently, training in the trades is divided among all four Hancock County high schools, with students traveling to whichever location the program they’re interested in is housed.
Greenfield-Central’s HVAC program, therefore, teaches not only GC juniors and seniors, but also those from Mt. Vernon, Eastern Hancock and New Palestine high schools.
The two-year program includes book work and discussion, video training and lab work with hands-on experience, followed by internships in the field the second year. There are four seniors in the program this year and 19 juniors.
Jason Kendall said students would be in the lab every day if they could, their love for hands-on training obvious. But the students understand the importance of all aspects of the course, and are training to complete several certifications by the time they’re done.
Students who excel in the program receive refrigerant training OSHA certification and electrical certifications at GCHS.
“They walk out with pretty much what they need to get right into the workforce,” Kendall said. “Last year we had a few offers at graduation. My goal is to have every senior have employment offers prior to graduation.”
Juniors Brody Wallace and Clayton Moriarty say they enjoy the group of students they spend time with, and the fact that Kendall puts a lot of time and effort into the program and getting community partners for the internships.
They’ve always enjoyed working with their hands. Wallace’s grandfather was a diesel mechanic, and spent a lot of time growing up side-by-side working with mechanics.
“My goal is to join the local union; there’s amazon benefits, and I have quite a few connections in it,” he said.
Moriarty started exploring construction, and decided to stick with HVAC because it involves a lot of variety: refrigeration, electrical work, engineering, sheet metal work and more.
“It’s nice feeling accomplished when you finish your certifications,” he added. “It makes you excited just to be able to continue on.”
In fact, since Kendall is a certified instructor through Ivy Tech, students that attend the GC course are halfway through earning an associate’s degree by the time they graduate high school.
GC Superintendent Dr. Harold Olin said GC is incredibly fortunate to have Jason Kendall teaching students, thanks to his professional background and knowing the intricacies of the trade.
“I think it provides him with instant credibility with our students,” Olin said. “Jason sees the need that exists in the HVAC industry, and he is going to great lengths to equip our students with the skills they need to immediately fill the technician positions that are open in central Indiana.”
On the horizon is an expanded program for teaching local students the trade. While roughly 25 students are in the course now, by this fall there will be room for a total of 50.
Just northwest of Greenfield is the construction of Amplify Hancock Innovation Center. Starting this fall, the HVAC program and other trades programs taught at the other Hancock County schools will be operating under one umbrella– the Hancock County Career Center (“HC3”)– and in one building.
The goal for the site at county roads 200 West and 300 North is for all vocational and technical programs for high school students and adult learners to expand, including manufacturing, construction, welding and more.
The 106,000 square foot building will include an area specifically for HVAC, said Stan Wilkison, director of HC3. In the near future, twice as many students could be trained in the HVAC trade.
“It’s a brand new facility; we’ve been very fortunate with our county leaders who have provided us with a beautiful building,” Wilkison said. “We’re blessed and we greatly appreciate their support. It’s a brand new lab space, state-of-the-art technology; more training equipment. We’re wanting to expand that program for morning and afternoon.”
Greenfield-Central’s HVAC program has been strong, Wilkison said, thanks to Kendall’s leadership. He is diligent about making sure students receive proper training to get into the business immediately, and that they can get real-world experience through internships.
“He has done a great job expanding partnerships and ultimately– this is the case with all our programs (at HC3)– we want them to be that pipeline for local business and industry,” Wilkison said.
Olin said teaching the trades is vital because there is a labor gap: many skilled tradesmen are retiring, and smaller numbers of young adults are trained for positions. There are many young adults who find satisfaction in working with their hands and fixing mechanical problems that are a great fit for the HVAC program, as well as many of the other trades programs that will be included at HC3.
“The creation of HC3 will allow us to provide these learning opportunities much closer to home, so we expect our number of students pursuing the trades to increase,” Olin said. “It has been a lot of fun planning Amplify and HC3 over the last six years. We have dedicated leaders throughout Hancock County who are committed to making this project a success.”
By Maribeth Vaughn
“The creation of HC3 will allow us to provide these learning opportunities much closer to home, so we expect our number of students pursuing the trades to increase,” Olin said. (construction picture of HC3 courtesy of Tom Russo / Daily Reporter).