ALLEN COUNTY, OH (WLIO) - Our OhioMeansJobs Student Employee of the Month is Ethan Reed, a 2024 Apollo Career Center graduate who went straight from the classroom to a full-time position. Bethany Ulrick tells us more.
Ethan Reed has been working at Washam Plumbing Heating & Air Conditioning since June 2023. He worked part-time during his senior year at Apollo Career Center, and through his HVAC courses, he was able to graduate with four industry certifications and jump straight into a job he enjoys.
"Three years ago, my parents' furnace went out, and we called our buddy to come do it, and I was the one helping him down there, so I figured it would be a nice job to try out. It's slow-paced; you get done when you do, and if something's wrong, you always have help," said Ethan Reed, general apprentice, Washam Plumbing Heating & Air Conditioning.
In the HVAC business, no matter what the temperature is outside, work is never hard to find. But for many companies in the skilled trades, a hard-working young employee like Reed isn't as easy to come by.Â
"It is actually very rare, and we're very appreciative that Apollo is putting out students like Ethan. From day one, Ethan has been an asset to the company. He's a very good young man; he's very thrilled to learn new things every day, and he takes every task to the best of his ability," stated James Lescallett, HVAC service technician, installer, and plumber at Washam Plumbing Heating & Air Conditioning.Â
OhioMeansJobs has several ways to help guide students who go directly from graduation to work. They offer financial counseling catered to their individual life plans and can work with schools and businesses to help them secure a job in Allen County.
"A lot of kids, they think they have to go to college, and they have to do this to end up on the right side of things, and that's not always true. If you do want to go into work experience or going straight into the workforce, it's a great opportunity, working with Apollo especially, for us to get them into a position to be successful in that next step in life," commented Kyler Washam, a job coach at OhioMeansJobs Allen County.
