A summer program is getting San Pedro youth excited about skilled trades

Wearing hard hats, work gloves and eye protection, kids from the Boys and Girls Club demonstrated their skills in fields like carpentry, welding, and electrical work, while gaining valuable insights from industry professionals about a future in the building trades.

KNX News' Pete Demetriou reports the high schoolers who joined the Skilled Trades Summer Display Program in San Pedro are motivated by a number of factors - including the possibility of earning a VERY good living.

Belan Vargas with Harbor Freight Tools for Schools , which helps sponsor the program, says the campaign makes kids aware of jobs outside a college degree path.

"What we really feel is important is, in high school, to give young people exposure and options of what is available out there, and have them decide," she said. "And most of these programs as we know, disappeared 25 or 30 years ago."

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In general, Vargas said, entry level for these roles can start somewhere between $50,000-$60,000 per year. As a candidate gains more education and credentials, within 4 to 5 years Vargas said many can expect to make six figures.

When kids learn about the earnings potential in the trades, it's a mind and a game changer.

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