PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Managers at the Skilled Trades Academy of Tidewater Community College say its phones have been ringing off the hook since 10 On Your Side took you inside the academy, where men and women are learning the skills that are critical for the health of the region’s maritime industry.
“Several incredible things — we have just gotten a phone call that four students, people off the street, just want to sign up for classes,” said Program Manager Mike Vander Werf.
Other calls have originated from employers whose workers need additional training, and employers who desperately need trained welders, pipe fitters and forklift operators.
“It’s been great since you guys [WAVY-TV 10] have been here,” Werf said.
Lavontae Nesmith, 20, a Deep Creek High School graduate who is learning welding, just completed the mandatory classroom portion of the program. Most students enrolled qualify for free tuition.
“I mean, one is good money,” Nesmith said. “And then on top of that … that’s something I’ve been wanting to do since I was a kid.”
That’s when his life, in the Deep Creek section of Chesapeake, was listing like a ship imperiled at sea.
“I was as a kid. But then as I got older, I started to see that it was just too much,” Nesmith said. “I was in the fifth grade getting suspended every week, every week.”
Nesmith righted his ship, and with guidance from the academy, he hopes to land a job at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, where he can use his skills to make sure the nation’s warships are mission-ready.
“It makes me feel good,” Nesmith said. “Good about myself, because it makes me think about where I came from or what I’m doing in my life now.”
For more information on the program call 757-822-1234.
