New skilled trade program at Detroit high school allows hands-on experience

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Randolph High School has a program for young people to learn trades all before leaving high school. Students get a chance to start working earlier in their chosen field before graduation.

"My dad is the one that convinced me to go to a trade school," said Stacie Reeves, DTE. "He told me that a non-traditional trade for a woman would be something where I would be more marketable. I could get a trade because I didn’t want to go to college.

"I graduated second in my class, but college just was not something I wanted to pursue."

College wasn’t for Stacie Reeves - now she’s showing people how they can have a fulfilling and well-paying career without a four-year degree.

"With this skill you can go anywhere," she said.

Randolph High School’s Energy Trades program is for folks thinking of a career not involving college.

Shaniyah Smith is an 11th grader at Hamtramck high school

"I want to do this in the future," Smith said. "I kind of like building houses, for me I like the whole electrical program."

The program is a first-of-its-kind for a Detroit high school, according to DTE Energy, and they’ve got a newly installed pole yard donated and constructed by the company, so the kids can get hands-on experience.

"The program is important because it introduces our students to the energy trades," said Charles Fowlkes, Randolph High School program manager. "What we emphasize, what we specialize in, is the lines worker fundamentals.

"(We want to) make sure we have students going through the pipeline going through the careers and fulfill these careers."