High school students get on-the-job education

SHORT PUMP, Va. -- It's no surprise to see more condos going up in the Short Pump area. But you might be surprised to learn a couple of the workers here are only high school students.

"We have 24 students through our HVAC, carpentry, and electrical program and they're all employed on the job sites every other day instead of the classroom," Hanover High School teacher James Sanford said.

Two Hanover students are working with B & B Electricthrough Hanover County's Youth Apprentice Registered Program and the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry.

“We’re learning about PVC pipe, gluing it, put it in the ground and everything. Putting up boxes, measurements," senior Hunter Freda said.

Nate Murphy is following in his brother's footsteps and working to become an electrician.

"Go through school and get a journeyman's license," Nate said. "Four years of school, of electricity school, if you pass a test you get a journeyman's license."

B & B electrician Matt Dillon is helping them learn.

He should know how valuable the opportunity is because he did the same thing through Chesterfield County Schools.

"They take money out of your check and that goes into our school fund," Dillon said. “After your four years of school and after you take your test, you get reimbursed for all that money. It's kind of like going to college for free."

"We're taking the classroom off the job site and increasing their learning here," Sanford said. “They can learn a little bit about the trade and learn about a future and earn a paycheck as well."

Learning those skills... is Building Better Minds.