Worthington Industries

Some WKHS students are not interested in pursuing college directly after high school.  Worthington schools has established a partnership with Worthington Industries to help meet the needs of students looking for a strong work option. 

In the Worthington Industries Workforce Experience program, seniors have the chance to learn in the classroom and through hands-on experiences the skills needed to be successful in the workplace today.  This would take place during the 2nd semester with the goal being that you would be able to work on the floor of one of their facilities before the end of the year.  In the end, the goal is that those students who have good performance reviews through the internship program will have the chance to receive an offer for full time employment after high school.  And, they also said that their starting salary would be $14.50... pretty good start for just graduating from high school.

There are strong growth opportunities available within the company.  One of the young men who had been hired after completing the internship with Hilliard spoke to us and he LOVES what he is doing and said that he is fully confident he will remain at Worthington Industries for the rest of his life.  He has already focused on what he wants his next career move to be within the organization and is working hard to make sure that he is able to achieve that goal.  He talked about how some of his friends that graduated with him are currently working at restaurants or pet stores and making minimum wage and are bored in what they do.  He acknowledged that the entry level jobs are tedious, but he said he loves working with his hands, he loves the people he works with, and he never resents having to come to work.

One interesting aspect is that they work shifts much like many hospitals do in that they have 12 hour shifts.  During a shift the employees rotate to different stations so that they don't get totally burned out on doing one task the whole time.  Staff from Worthington Industries have talked about the plentiful opportunities for overtime and the fact that many employees like that a lot for the chance to be able to make even more money (time and a half or double time depending on how many hours are worked).  They also have profit sharing and bonuses that for employees.  But as I learned about Worthington Industries, it wasn't the wages, but the positive environment which stood out the most to me.

So, what are they looking for?  They are looking for dedicated students who have a desire to learn something new.  They are looking for someone who is willing to be a part of a team.  Someone who will show up consistently and try.  They prefer if you are willing to ask questions to help learn.  You must be in your senior year because ideally they'd like to hire you on for summer or beyond employment.  And you have to be able to pass a drug test.

This is an exciting opportunity for our students.  If you are unsure of what you want to do in the future, if you are not sure you want to go straight to college, if you want to get hands on work experience at a good pay to help fund your future college goals, then this might be the perfect program for you!  

There will be a virtual student information session with the Worthington Industries staff on Wednesday, December 9th at 11:20am during Connections time.  There will also be a virtual information session for parents on Thursday, December 10th at 6:30pm.  Links for both are in the WKHS Counselor Schoology page.  We believe that these sessions will provide a valuable chance to learn even more about the program and to see if this opportunity would be a good fit.

Working at Worthington Industries is a great opportunity for students to have a solid, well paying job with benefits after high school.  If you are not looking at college, please consider exploring this opportunity.