Trade skills program gives Long Island students hands-on job training

LONG ISLAND - From textbooks to hands-on teaching, more than 20 juniors and seniors in the Bellmore-Merrick School District are adding real experience to their resumes, working in the district’s state-of-the-art salon as a way for students to find their passion while practicing professionalism.

"We have sinks, nail tables with ventilation, twenty stations with LED lights," said cosmetology teacher Jaime Pendl.

"These aren’t things you get from regular programs," Rebecca Rosensweig said. "I’m hands-on working every day, it keeps me excited to go to school."

The cosmetology course, which aims to equip students with the tools to pass the New York State board exam, is just one example of a trade skills program offered in districts across Long Island.

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"Not every student is destined for college," Pendl said. "College is wonderful for many but it’s not the one and only."

Findings from a recent poll revealed the likelihood of attending a four-year school sank 20% in the last two years. Why? Experts explain teens are choosing shorter, more affordable, career–connected pathways

Leah Arnold with Eastern Suffolk BOCES is seeing a 20-percent increase in enrollment in technical and career classes as she says people are choosing careers purposefully since the pandemic.

"Construction trade, manufacturing, the health careers are all with waitlists," she said. "Having a technical education in high school means you know sooner the things you like and don’t like and you can make choices for your future."

Planning for the future now to achieve success after school.