Path to Success The path to success is a 4-year degree … or is it?   When this talk was given in 2016, data showed that by 2020, 10 million jobs would go unfilled because there would not be enough people with the skills needed to fill them.  As of February 2023, there are over 10 million job openings, many of which are remaining unfilled due to a lack of skill.  For decades, we’ve told a story that places more value on a degree hanging on the wall than the skills needed to build that wall. As a result, we’ve created a “skills gap” that will impact all of us, from the cars we drive to the places we live and work. Respecting skill equally is a critical shift for all of us - whether it is a masters degree recipient or a master craftsman. Empowering students to explore their passions with their hands and mind can transform education and the economic fabric of our country. Having grown up in rural North Carolina, Peyton learned the value of hard work and skill early in life. His father en

  The Hammond Area Career Center (ACC) Construction program has been working diligently on a multitude of projects.  For Hispanic Heritage Month, the Construction program built a display of an Aztec Temple. The class as a whole put in a lot of effort to make the temple accurate and the details precise.  In addition to working on this project, the class is working on a project to honor veterans in the area.  This class allows time for individual as well as group projects.  The Construction class offers certification for OSHA as well as NCCER certification.  Students in this class earn six high school credits and have the opportunity to attend this program as both a junior and a senior.  The Construction class offers skills such as blueprint reading, framing, roofing, painting, and even cabinetry.  Students are able to intern with different companies in the area halfway through their second year in the program.  Students in this program are able to compete in SkillsUSA and are starting t