November 20, 2024
By Lane Kimble
COLOMA, Wis. — The alarm clocks went off well before sunrise Tuesday morning in Peshtigo.
Yawning, a group of high schoolers was out the door and on the road by 6:30 a.m.
Not a bad way to get a taste of life as a laborer.
“The bus ride was the worst thing, it was two-and-a-half hours,” teacher Dan Vanidestine said.
The 150-mile journey led Dan and his Vocational Studies students to the Operating Engineers Local 139 Training Center in Coloma for the semi-annual Externship Day.
More than 400 students, counselors, teachers, and parents from all over the state joined the boys from Peshtigo that day, the second of three “Externship Days” this week.
There was the chance to climb into a mini excavator, try out heavy equipment simulators, pick up some great insights from an industry panel, and tour the 400-acre facility.
“Really great experience… It’s hands on,” Vanidestine said. “Kids don’t know what they don’t know, so for them to come and actually get their hands on and get to try it out, it’s very beneficial.”
The Operating Engineers have hosted the program for the better part of a decade, expanding it from two days to three to give the 1,200 attendees more time and space at each station.
The OE139 hosts Externship Day events every spring and fall.
“The smiles on the simulators, the smiles on their faces when they get in the arena and get on the excavator and try it for the first time is pretty rewarding, too,” trainer Kip Gutke said.
The reward reciprocates with many of the students who attend. Gutke has seen plenty of high school “externs” return for OE139’s growing apprenticeship program and land great paying jobs working for contractors in Wisconsin.
Just this week, Gov. Tony Evers announced Wisconsin reached a new record-high for people working in apprenticeship programs with 17,089 enrolled across more than 200 programs. This year’s total surpassed previous records set in 2023 and 2022.
Wisconsin was the first state in the nation to form a registered apprenticeship program back in 1911.
“It’s exciting. They’re learning about how to become an operating engineer in a day, in a nutshell,” Gutke said. “It’s a lot, but it’s well organized, we have a great team here, great staff and we all work together.”
Together, the boys from Peshtigo trudged back to their ride Tuesday afternoon. After a long but rewarding day, Vanidestine believes their journey is just beginning.
“We got on the bus at 6:30 a.m. and we won’t be back until probably 4:30. And most of these kids are working in the afternoon, so they’re giving up work time and have to make up schoolwork and they still wanted to come,” Vanidestine said. “This is top-notch.”
