U.S. Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling praises Arizona’s workforce pathways

U.S. Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling toured Valley trade school West-MEC Wednesday, taking an in-depth look at how Arizona high school students can enter the workforce at a young age.

Sonderling was impressed with how the trade school works with local companies, such as TSMC Arizona, to make sure students are trained with the same equipment and systems they will use in their future careers.

“We’re really seeing a manufacturing renaissance in the United States. We’re seeing it here in Arizona. These are really highly skilled jobs that didn’t exist before. So, the curriculum and training need to change with that. … That’s why we’re excited about (West-MEC) because it’s working with the employers,” he said.

 

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He noted he wants to replicate West-MEC’s program nationwide, bringing in more trade school options for youth that may not want to attend a traditional college.

“No longer do we want our students to go to school and just graduate with a lot of debt and not have the skills they need for that job,” Sonderling said. “That doesn’t help them and it doesn’t help the employers who need to fill these jobs. … That’s what’s really so special about this place, and it’s working.”

Scott Spurgeon, West-MEC superintendent, said he spoke with Sonderling about ways to improve the school, including combining partnerships with multiple universities in the state and finding a way to allow West-MEC to receive federal funding.

“We don’t necessarily qualify for a lot of the grants and money that’s coming out right now. They typically go through the state LEAs — local education agencies — or the state workforce development systems or the two-year and four-year colleges and universities. We kind of sit in that really gray area where we don’t really qualify,” Spurgeon explained.

Sophia Taitalo is a junior studying artificial intelligence at West-MEC. She emphasized the program is constantly evolving as technology grows, which could give her an edge in the workforce.

“I just want to get the knowledge and the education on (AI) because I think it’s important. What I want to do in the future is be a fighter pilot and be involved with aviation mechanics, so I don’t know how big AI plays a part in it, but I know that having the education on it is going to be … essential,” she said.

Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

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