Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1497518
54 PCB007 MAGAZINE I APRIL 2023 gram falls under the Texas Workforce Com- mission. It's a hands-on electrical technician program designed for kids who don't want to, don't have the money to, or who don't have the opportunity to go to college. ey take a 200- hour class taught by a state-certified electrical engineer. ey learn how to read schematics and blueprints. ey learn how to work with fluorescent lighting, ceiling fans, and fluores- cent breaker boxes in both commercial and residential. Now, we're working with others in electronics to see how we can add more sol- dering and specified schematics to help train the next generation in this high-demand trade. My expertise is in education. I help kids in low-income areas find grants in high-demand trades and get them into fields that will get them a job and out of poverty. at's my main purpose—to actually help kids go to school without any out-of-pocket expenses and get a job straight out of school. We create opportu- nities. You're here at the SMTA Houston Expo. What do you hope to get out of it? rough some networking at Cup of Joey, I met Adrian from Alert Tech SMT, who told me about the SMTA Expo and encouraged me to bring my students. So, I decided to make it mandatory for my students to attend. I said, "Hey guys, this Expo will tie into your job-placement hours. Let's go." I met Marge Laney, the founder and CEO of Alert Tech SMT, and she invited my students for a tour. She also wants to see how we can partner and establish an internship program. It's beauti- ful because we just created an opportunity for students in less than a week. at's what hap- pens when people with purpose make things happen. There is a lot of support for young people coming into this industry, but there's concern that they have a different approach to work these days, including the idea that they don't want to work hard. What do you think about how young people view their careers? We mainly work with young adults, ages 17 to 24. Employers tell me all the time that young people don't look them in the eye, that they keep their heads down, and don't shake hands. ey're right; I do see that. Unfortu- nately, since we went into a lockdown, a lot of kids have become socially awkward. ey don't even see how nervous they are until they go to an internship or an interview. At our school, we try to help calm their nerves by telling them to be easy on themselves, that they're young, and going to an interview, they may mess up, but that employers understand they're nervous because they're inexperi- enced at this. What I see is that students oen feel overwhelmed by the amount of informa- tion, and then they shut down and don't want to look for jobs at all. What looks like laziness is really procrastination because they feel fro- zen by their anxiety. To help ease students' nerves, we tell employ- ers to just say to them, "It's okay, just tell me what you can do and then we'll go from there." ese younger people just want to feel part of a company and be change agents. ey want to feel included. Elvia Quintanilla