In recent years, much of the stigma surrounding trade schools has slowly dissipated, allowing students to explore more of what they would like to do without the pressure of going to a social-standard college. A lot of students may not feel as though college is what they are interested in, and would like to join alternative routes. Most high schools don’t provide those experiences, so how will they be informed about their interests and find opportunities? The answer: providing field trips to schools that provide trade programs and centers for students interested in that trade. Niles West’s Career Counselor Anthony Gliffe and multiple other counselors at Niles West and North have been working towards creating that possibility within D219. 

While the field trip program has been in place for a long time, new changes to the Illinois State Board of Education have propelled counselors to increase the number of opportunities.

“A lot is happening with the Illinois State Board of Education in terms of providing career pathway options for high school students and not just focusing on college anymore, but focusing on the traditional route. Helping kids earn dual credit opportunities, gaining credentials that might immediately help them for the workforce or help them develop a foundation or stackable credentials [will] help them make a student more attractive for what they want to do in their career. Sometimes you need college to get to a career and sometimes you need to utilize a career with college,” Gliffe said. 

The field trips are intended to shed more light on trade opportunities and help students find their next step. Junior Thomas Cullen says that his field trip to Ironworkers Local 63 did just that.

“I’ve always wanted to do something in trade and I’ve been into wielding recently so when I heard about this field trip I knew it would be really beneficial for me to go. This field trip showed me what I would do as an apprentice and it gave me a clear view of what my life would be like if I chose this path, as I wasn’t sure what a professional welder did before this field trip. I’m still keeping my mind open to other fields in trades, so I’ll probably try to go on those field trips too. This was enlightening and I encourage everyone interested in trade to go on one of these trips,” Cullen said.

Counselors have seen the impact these field trips have had on individuals and have encouraged more students to go.

“I think these field trips offer students a hands-on experience instead of listening to a guest speaker talking about a trade.  They learn about the career/trade and the pathway to obtain that career. I have heard positive feedback from students who attended. They learned about career options, scholarship opportunities and more,” Niles West counselor Stephanie Lau said. 

The Niles West and Niles North counseling department took about 12 field trips in the fall and got a great response from the student body, in terms of how many enjoyed it and how valuable it was to them. They plan to go even further by exposing students to new opportunities, and are planning to run seven or eight more this spring. 

To get more information about these field trips, check out the counselor’s posts about these trips in Canvas classrooms, Gliffe’s Google document which is shared with students and information presented by Glifee in Student Services presentations. If interested, students could also speak to Gliffe to obtain a field trip form.