Great careers are available in career and technical fields, and throughout the nation efforts are underway to create greater workforce diversity within these fields. Calhoun Community College is working with local business and industry to interest more young women from area high schools in nontraditional, technical careers and is offering two free and fun summer opportunities to help spark that interest.

During the week of June 16-23, Calhoun will team with the Decatur-Morgan

County Chamber of Commerce to present the second annual Summer Welding and

Electrical Technology (SWeETy) Camp for ninth through twelfth grade girls.

This free summer camp experience will be available to the top-20 applicants from city and county high schools in Limestone, Madison and Morgan counties.

According to camp coordinator Gwen Baker, last year’s camp was a tremendous success, and she is expecting an even better camp experience this year.

Area high school counselors have been asked to select students to participate in this summer camp, where the students will learn about the opportunities available to women in the technology-based workforce of the future.

The SWeETy camp will offer girls a unique opportunity to learn, hands-on, about technical skills that can lead to high-paying, satisfying careers in high growth industries.

The camp will provide hands-on experiences in welding and electricity and will help students develop problem-solving skills and teamwork as they participate in instructor-led projects, field trips and interact with women role models during industry-sponsored lunches. Students will be challenged to break down stereotypes that may deter girls from pursuing technical professions by introducing them to women who currently work in non-traditional fields and by offering them a number of convincing reasons why girls should consider technical careers.

BE&K Construction Company is this year's presenting sponsor for the SWeETy Camp, with additional sponsorship provided by BP, CSFCO, Domino's Pizza, Enbridge Pipelines, LLC, Joe Wheeler Electric Membership Corporation, Meow Mix/Del Monte Pet Products and Tennessee Valley Training Center (TVTC).

During the week of July 14-18, young, high school-aged women will gather at Calhoun to learn about career opportunities available to them in the process industries. Process industries take raw materials and transform them into finished products through the use of a chemical and/or a physical process.

The third annual Science and Technology Preview (STeP) summer camp is an opportunity for young women to learn about a high tech career in a non-traditional field. The STeP summer camp is free to the first 25 students who apply, and pre-registration is required.

High tech jobs are both high paying and have the best opportunity for growth in the next decade. However, many young women do not realize that these career paths are open to them because of negative stereotypes and a lack of good role models. The STeP summer camp will introduce and help them step up to a career in the process industry field, said Baker.

Calhoun’s STeP summer camp is sponsored by the Center for the Advancement of Process Technology (CAPT), a national center funded, in part, through a National Science Foundation grant. The purpose of the camp is to encourage young women to see the value of a career in process or chemical technology, and to urge them to prepare now for a rewarding future.

The Calhoun Process Technology Program is hosting the STeP summer camp because a large number of industries that hire Process Technology graduates are located nearby. Several of these companies are co-hosting the event.