Mayfield High School students enrolled in the “Learn and Earn” program recently got to visit different houses, including the Home Builders Associations’ Home for the Holidays house, which are all under various stages of construction in order to gain some insight into what has becoming a growing industry. Deanna Elsing Associate Principal of innovative programming, left, watches on as her students learn about basement depth requirements. (Frank Mecham- The News-Herald.) Currently under development off of Grappa Farms in Highland Heights, some of the houses in the area tower above the holiday house, with others being more contained in their footprints. The varied buildings, according to information presented at the tour, are a small indicator of how many different tradespeople are required to work together to bring a plan made from ink and paper to brick and mortar, or more commonly in modern times, compressed polyboard. Mayfield High School students tour The Home for the Holiday’s house, which will be raffled off in Dec.. (Frank Mecham- The News-Herald.) Deanna Elsing, associate principal of innovative programming, said that she was there with the students from the Learn and Earn program so each one could see what having a career in the trades would look like in practice. “Learn and Earn stemmed from the fact that our Excel Tecc programs, which are our career educational programs, are actually so popular that we are turning away students from our construction, our manufacturing, and our auto program,” Elsing said. Blueprints of A Home for the Holiday’s house is shown, located in Highland Heights. (Frank Mecham- The News-Herald.) She said that the school started the alternative program in 2023, and it ballooned from six students being involved to 25 students in 2024. When students graduate from the program, she said, they leave with professional level certifications which makes them more attractive to potential employers. “Using the Home Builders Institute curriculum our students are actually leaving the first semester with us, the ‘learn’ part of the semester, with industry credentials in construction,” Elsing said. “The second semester of the program, the ‘earn’ part of the program our students are partnered… with professionals in industry for a paid internship second semester. “They leave after the fifth or sixth period,” she said. “They head with one of the plumbers, one of the electricians, one of the HVAC technicians, on home building sites and they are working side by side with a professional in the industry.” She said that after the semester of paid internship is completed, employers and students can then either agree to continue the relationship into a full-blown job, or if it was just a chance for the student to gain some experience in the field. “It’s kind of like the idea of trying it before you buy it both for the employer and for the student,” Elsing said. “At the end of semester both the employer and the student will have an opportunity to talk to see if they want to turn it into full time employment, or if it was just an opportunity for resume building and internship experience.” Students learn about different special features of houses that can be included if the client wishes. (Frank Mecham- The News-Herald.) Students enrolled in the program spend two periods a day with the educators at the high school, in that time they take field trips to see the different jobs in action, but they also learn soft interview skills like how to dress professionally for job interviews, and how to put together a resume. “We are on job sites and getting hands-on experience along with just figuring out what the exposure piece of what it looks like to be in the field of construction,” Elsing said. “They used to be soft skills but the idea of how to look people in the eye, how to shake hands, how to resolve conflict in the workplace, resume building… “It’s all of those professional skills that all of the employers that we have been meeting with keep saying that is the most important part,” she added. “What we are hearing from our employers is they are willing to teach the hard skills on the job, for the student that is coming in with the soft skills already.” Higher end furnishings are seen in one bathroom of A Home for the Holiday’s house located in Highland Heights. (Frank Mecham- The News-Herald.) Last year out of every six students who participated in the program all ended with full-time employment with the companies they interned with. She said they were hoping to continue the trend for the students this year. “You may have heard of a signing day for college students who are going to be athletes or for people who join the military,” Elsing said. “Last year we had an opportunity for 13 students to do a signing day for students who were choosing employment as their outcome. “There certainly are perceptions of construction and manufacturing and what that looks like and I do believe that we are breaking and dissolving the stigma of what it means to be in the trades…,” she added. “These students are going to have the opportunity, not for a job, but for a career.”