By Alan Sorensen
Havre Public Schools' school-to-career program is hosting two career presentations Tuesday, Nov. 16.
Representatives from the University of Montana's health careers opportunity program will speak on their program at 7 p.m. in Havre High School room 14. The presentation is open to all students and their parents.
From 10 a.m. to noon, an automotive career day presentation in conjunction with the Coordinating Committee for Automotive Repair (CCAR) will be held in the HHS auto shop.
School-to-career coordinator Tamara Johnson said the evening's topic of discussion will be UM's health careers opportunity program (HCOP), a six-week intensive educational opportunity. Students who are accepted will spend six weeks at UM in Missoula receiving one-on-one instruction in chemistry, anatomy, physics and other health-related career classes.
HCOP is open to people interested in pharmacy, physical therapy or other health-related career who have completed the junior year of high school and meet other criteria. They must be members of a minority, including Native American, black, Hispanic, Asian and Russian immigrant, who qualify as low income or people who will be the first person in a family to graduate from college.
The morning program will include information that is being disseminated at more than 3,500 educational institutions across the country.
Johnson noted that there is a severe shortage of qualified technicians for upwards of 60,000 well-paying jobs. The shortage is expected to grow as vehicles become even more technically complex.
The automotive presenters will discuss various high-tech career path options such as computerized engine management, hydraulics, pneumatics, etc. Salaries for automotive careers range from $20,000 to $250,000 per year.
The high-tech industry encourages students to stay in school and take a strong curriculum including communication skills, applied mathematics, applied physics, applied chemistry and computer classes.
Students also need to develop analytical and problem solving skills in order to be successful.
For more information about either presentation or Havre's school-to-career program, call Johnson at 265-6732.
