$10,000 worth of equipment donated to Dunedin High's electrical program
DUNEDIN, Fla. - The electrical wiring program in Dunedin High School's construction technology class got a boost Monday in the form of $10,000 worth of equipment.
"This new equipment, it’ll give us more opportunities to do stuff safely and properly," Dunedin High freshman David Grote said.
The donation came from Clearwater-based APG Electric, Electric Supply and Milwaukee Tools. Students unloaded the truck full of new equipment Monday morning.
"This is the real products, the real tools that we use every day in the electrical field, so they get used to doing real installations," Jim Donze, a training and development specialist at APG, said. "They see the stuff. They get excited about it because they go, ‘oh hey I can do this. I can make something work.’"
Some of the tools donated included cordless drills, laser levels, linesman pliers, wire strippers, screwdrivers, electric meters and assorted electrical accessories like couplings and fittings.
Donze said when the program’s teacher, Brandon Szymanski, a former APG employee, came to him about the program’s needs, he was happy to help.
"When I saw what his program was, and I knew that they had a lot of construction stuff, they were lacking on the electrical side, so I wanted to partner with him," Donze said.
Donze said he spoke with APG’s vendors, and they came up with the donation.
"This is like jet fuel on a plane," Szymanski said. "These tools are exactly what our program was needing to move forward. Being a licensed electrician, part of my direct focus is going to be electrical, and these tools are going to allow me to put hand tools in every students’ hands and not just five or 10 at a time, because we were limited on being able to scale the program for as many students as we’ve had."
Szymanski said the donation allows him to accept more students into the program, which in the long run, Donze said, will help the industry overall.
"We are desperately short of electricians, apprentice electricians starting out," Donze said.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, electrician jobs will grow about 7% by 2031.
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"I was happy, because this program has always kind of been underfunded, and I thought it would be great for kids like freshmen, because they have this stuff, and I didn’t have this stuff when I was a freshman," Dunedin High senior Camden Gregory said.
Donze said APG also puts students through a four-year apprenticeship program after high school and pays for their education while they’re in the program.