PORTLAND — On Oct. 1, the members of Ironworkers Local No. 29 in Portland voted to grant funds to Ione High School’s Career and Technical Education Program to purchase 40 welding helmets.

The helmets will be given to students enrolled in CTE classes and will be theirs to keep. Construction technology, agricultural mechanics, and metal technologies are programs that will benefit from the welding helmets. This will also make it possible for students to not have to share helmets, which is not an option due to COVID restrictions at this time.

Career and technical education (CTE) provides an important pathway to success for high school students and offers each student opportunities to personalize his or her education based on their career interests and unique learning needs. This is hands-on learning that allows students to focus on current vocational opportunities.

Ironworkers Local No. 29 finds that reaching out to rural schools and helping them learn about apprenticeship programs within the building trades is important and much needed. They can introduce students to an alternative to college, which is not a choice for some of today’s graduates.