Apr. 12—Eight Lawrence County High School students qualified for Alabama's Ready to Work Certification, and two of those students used the program to secure jobs upon their high school graduation.

Thanks to Alabama's Ready to Work program (RTW), a soft skills job training program provided by Alabama Industrial Development Training, Hunter Shelton of East Lawrence High School and Nick Dunlap of Hatton High School will start work with Marathon Electrical Contractors after they receive their diplomas.

"We think getting this certification puts our students at the forefront," said Lawrence County Superintendent Jon Bret Smith. "This is not only a program for high school students but for citizens of Alabama."

The training teaches soft skills that students will use daily in the job market. RTW modules included curriculum on identifying workplace violence, communication skills, banking skills, job and interview prep, how to find a job, technology basics, Occupational Safety and Health Administration training and problem solving.

In addition to Shelton and Dunlap, students receiving their certification awards at the Lawrence County Board of Education's meeting Monday were Madison Hitt from Hatton High School and Andrew Evans, Jeremy Hardy, Jacob Jones, Savanna Jones and Skye Letson from Lawrence County High.

Through the program, the students earned a free four-hour class at the community college of their choice.

Pamela Crumpton, who works as the electronics and robotics teacher at Lawrence County Career Technical Center, oversees the Ready to Work Program with their community partner Lockheed Martin Corp.

"First off, I want to say how proud I am of these eight students," Crumpton said. "I just want to jump up and down. I'm so proud of them."

All eight students will also compete at the SkillsUSA state championship competition — a competition where students can develop their career skills in a competitive setting. The RTW curriculum trained the students to compete in career competitions like this.

"One of the problems was about a freezer going out," Crumpton said of the RTW training. "If you have X number of dollars to spend on a freezer, you have different types of freezers, but which one matches what you can purchase?"

Hitt used the skills she learned to land an internship with Lockheed Martin for the summer.

Crumpton said her favorite part of overseeing Alabama Ready to Work students is listening to them talk about what they have learned. She said the banking lessons helped students identify the differences between debit and credit cards and understand interest rates.

Alabama Career Essentials (ACE), a career development program made in partnership with the Alabama community college system, will replace Alabama Ready to Work in the fall. The programs have similarities, but ACE allows students to earn employer certifications in specific cluster areas like cybersecurity.

"I'm excited that we're going to be going to something new," Crumpton said. "According to Mr. (Tony) May, who is over workforce development in Montgomery, it's like the Alabama Ready to Work program on steroids."

Students will be able to start the free ACE program as sophomores.

— audrey.johnson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2437.