Window manufacturer's student exchange program emphasizes the importance of skilled trade jobs

High schools have made a concerted effort in recent years to introduce students to the skilled trades and make them aware of well-paying career opportunities that do not require a college degree.

A Penn Township company is taking that concept international.

Ventana USA, a custom window manufacturer, is working with its sister company in Vreden, Germany, to host two German exchange students this month in Murrysville, where they attended Franklin Regional classes and spent time learning from Ventana employees. In late April, two Franklin Regional students will travel to Vreden for two weeks to do the same thing.

“I really wanted to experience high school life in the U.S. and do an internship outside of Germany,” said Luise Noldes, 16, who is in 11th grade in Vreden.

Noldes and fellow exchange student Charlotte Laurech, 16, said American high school has noticeable differences from its German counterpart.

“In Germany, we take different classes every day and have more classes overall,” Noldes said.

“Over there, students mostly stay in the same classroom and teachers usually come to you,” Laurech said.

Their German high school, however, does make a similar effort to introduce students to the skilled trades.

“In our cafeteria, different companies would visit and you could talk with them about what they do,” Laurech said.

In addition, German high schoolers have the option to leave school to focus on a skilled trade during their 10th-grade year.

“They also regularly have alumni come in to talk with us about their career path and how they got where they are,” Laurech said.

Ventana’s Penn Township location has about 120 employees. Its vice president for finance and administration, Chris Pauly, said their Vreden office has taken part in the exchange program with students in England and France for a few years.

“We thought, ‘What a good idea,’ ” Pauly said. “Skilled labor workers are harder to find nowadays, so we wanted to expose kids to what we do.”

At the manufacturing plant, the students were able to follow an order from start to finish.

“We do custom windows, so we walked them through an order,” Pauly said Wednesday. “Yesterday they finished building the insulated glass, and today they’re going to watch the final assembly.”

In the spring, Franklin Regional sophomores Zac Sudol and Olivia Zalewski will have a similar experience.

Sudol, 16, of Murrysville said he’s always wanted to travel to Germany.

“My mom is German, so it will be cool to see the country,” Sudol said. “I also am thinking about a career in economics, so seeing how a business operates — especially a business that’s in the U.S. and overseas — is really important to me.”

Zalewski, 15, of Murrysville said that, while window manufacturing might not be her precise career path, the experience is still valuable.

“We’re exploring different types of jobs,” she said. “I may be interested in engineering, and I got to see the entire process of creating a custom window.”