Partnership between St. Paul police, trade unions puts teens in position to win
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- It's an effort to help steer teenagers away from crime, by introducing them to the trades.
And it all starts with relationships between St. Paul Police officers and high school students.
Inside St. Paul College, some high schoolers are learning valuable skills.
"We're learning how to measure and cut a straight line in this pipe," said Rick Gale, St. Paul Plumbers Local #34 apprenticeship coordinator.
They are part of a program that teaches skills and personal development, as well as the knowledge of how to access good jobs with good benefits in the construction industry.
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"If I wasn't here, I'd be sitting at home. I don't really have much to do," said Harding Senior High School student Sabian Yang.
St. Paul Police sergeants working in the schools were the first to notice when school let out, there was no structure to keep kids out of trouble.
"They point at the police, 'This is a police problem.' It's not, it's really a community problem," said Cmdr. Jeff Stiff.
So these officers worked with the Minnesota Trade Academy to identify students who could benefit from learning a trade.
"I knew that college was not gonna be the way for me," said Harding Senior High School student Donmonique Glasper Jr.
Glasper and Yang are classmates, and both knew they wanted new experiences.
"It's more about learning those important skills that will help you down the road," Glasper said.
"That whole, new skill set and that new set of friends that they're gonna develop in this academy is gonna keep them out of a stolen car, out of a negative contact with the police," Stiff said.
But this training is about more than just the trades.
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"And they don't just teach them plumbing, electrical and bricklaying and steel work. It's not just that. It's you have to show up to work on time, you have to be in the right clothes," Stiff said.
"[The officers are] we can talk to more like mentors rather than seen as police officers because they're the ones that are there for us," Yang said.
Officers help students through the entire hiring process. The internships are paid not only with wages, but experiences that can change a young person's life.
"We all become a better society if everybody has a mission," Stiff said.
The Minnesota Trades Academy has internships during the summer and after school during the academic year. Click here for more information.