WAVE program puts emphasis on vocations

Winners celebrate 20th anniversary of award

For 20 years, WAVE has been helping people get technical.

And vocational.

Monday morning, winners of the Washington Award for Vocational Excellence, both past and present, came together at the Moses Lake Convention Center to acknowledge two decades of the Washington State Legislature program.

It was established in 1984 to recognize the achievements of career and technical students in the state, either in high school or community or technical colleges.

Recipients receive grants that can be used to attend community and technical colleges, regional/research colleges and universities, as well as accredited independent colleges and licensed private vocational schools.

Winners and Big Bend Community College first-year nursing students Blake Peterson and Shellie Leary found out about the possibilities of a WAVE scholarship through a previous recipient.

"Essentially it's going to give me a free bachelor's for nursing," Peterson said. "It pays for tuition and books, so I'll use it for tuition and books, and figure out some other way to live. But I can use it for two years for tuition and books, any where in the state."

"It's going to pay for my whole remainder year of nursing and another year hopefully toward my bachelor's," Leary said.

Ephrata High School student and WAVE winner Nichole Heer heard about the scholarship through her mother, who works for the school, she said.

"It's paying for two years of my tuition; I'm going to Western Washington," Heer said.

Heer said she will be studying industrial design.

"We want to draw people's attention to the quality of jobs that there are available with the background in career and technical education," said Ellen O'Brien Saunders, executive director of the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board. "Help people understand that there are a lot of jobs out there that don't always require the baccalaureate degree. Skills and education can work and result in a good family-wage job."

Tami Absalonson was a recipient of a 1988 WAVE award, and was one of two past winners to speak for a few minutes about the impact that it had on her.

She said she used her award to complete a three-year electronics course. The scholarship allowed her to work part-time and focus in her last year, and she said that her bosses have told her that being a WAVE winner was one of the reasons she was hired.

"A lot of the scholarships out there are geared toward the academic line, and the WAVE scholarship, being geared toward the vocational line, is so important because there's not a lot of opportunities for the vocational students," Absalonson said. "Those students are so important because they learn with their hands and when the topics are practical and relevant to them. This gives them a chance to be acknowledged for that achievement, and then continue their education."

Absalonson said she had the opportunity to nominate a student for the WAVE award last year; that student won and will be using it starting next year, she said.

Lieutenant governor Brad Owen delivered the ceremony's keynote address. He asked that the audience encourage friends and family to attend or return to school to fill the skills gaps found in the state and nation.

"Despite the recent downturn in our economy, according to the latest issue of Washington State Employers' Needs and Practices, one in four employers in this state had difficulty finding qualified job applicants during the past year," Owen said. "How can you have a skill shortage during a recession? But employers said they were looking for skills that many of the unemployed workers and new labor market entrants did not have."

According to the same report, Owen said, 91 percent of the employers said that they could not find applicants with occupation-specific skills, such as a carpenter, a welder or a nurse, for example.

Also, 85 percent of the employers could not find a person with positive work habits and attitudes, and problem-solving and communication skills.

"More than ever, there is a need for skilled workers," Owen told the audience. "Business quality, productivity and profitability demand qualified workers who can perform on the job today and adapt to the new demands for tomorrow. There are opportunities out there for those like you, who are willing to put a little time and effort into improving their job skills."