Olympics tests vocational skills

Future dreams can be made or broken at the Olympics. While world athletes await the Summer Olympics in Athens, Kern County students have already shown their abilities at the Golden Empire Skills Olympics held on April 2 at the Regional Occupation Center (ROC) in Bakersfield.

Hosted by the Kern High School District, these Olympics may be more important to the future of its participants. The events measure the fitness of the participants to step into a career that may provide them with a living the rest of their lives. For seven years, students from ROC, the Kern County Superintendent of Schools' Kern County Regional Occupational Program (KCROP), North Kern Vocational Training Center and West Side Regional Occupation Program have taken part in the annual competition testing vocational skills including: animal care, auto body fender, auto technology, finance, carpentry, computer repair, culinary arts, diesel mechanics, floral design, graphic arts, health, law enforcement, lodging management, office occupations, retail sales, teacher assistant, virtual enterprise, welding and wildland firefighting.

Ignition followed by the soft rumbling sounds of success came from one small block Chevy engine that a group of three students was working on, while to their right, in the same garage, sputtering sounds of failure emanated from an identical engine being worked on by another student team. Around both, judges with stopwatches and clipboards observed and marked scores. There is little room for success in this test of skills. The very best are expected to install a distributor and correct the timing on the engines in a minute or less. Some took up to 10 minutes.

"The jobs are out there for those who want to learn," said Bob Kopp, a judge and owner of TEC Services, specializing in automotive and truck repairs. "The demand is huge. The automotive repair industry is losing about a third of its workforce each year. The average age of mechanics is about 50. Our future rests with students who are taking courses such as these."

Approximately, 160 students took part under the watchful eyes of judges who actually teach vocational education or are industry leaders. In addition to the pressure of competing, there was the added stress of knowing someone judging them might be a prospective employer one day.

At another area on the ROC campus, it looked like something had gone terribly awry. A young female was slapping handcuffs on a male. He hadn't done anything wrong, and she was hoping to do everything right. KCROP Criminal Justice students Jaymie Sweaney and Trevor Stein were being tested. Sweaney had to approach a car that had suspected criminal Stein behind the wheel. In less then eight minutes, Sweaney had to talk Stein out of the car, frisk and handcuff him with one hand without losing hold of Stein with the other hand. All the while, Sweaney had to cite the correct vehicle and penal codes while advising Stein of his rights.

"I want a job in law enforcement because it is exciting, never stagnant and at the end of the day you can feel good about yourself," Sweaney said. "There is job security, and it is a career that not everyone wants."

"There is a big need and every agency is short-handed," said KCROP instructor Tony Montana. "Testing can bring out 2,000 applicants for job openings. That's why the training our students receive in the regional occupation programs is so important."
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