ADAIR VILLAGE - Teens wearing hard hats were among the 150 students from high schools across the Willamette Valley who got a first-hand look Wednesday at careers they might be pursuing in a few years.

From pipelaying to concrete finishing, small equipment operation to torch cutting, there were demonstrations of a variety of construction skills by long-time laborers, as well as apprentices currently enrolled in the Oregon & Southern Idaho Laborers-Employers Training Center in Adair Village.

Training director Al DeVita works with school districts that offer technical training programs at high schools in Corvallis, Springfield and Portland, and said he was thrilled to have so many young people visiting the training site.

Although many youth go into construction and labor because they're not interested in attending college, DeVita said that the work his apprentices do actually can lead to their later enrollment in college as well as placing them in good-paying jobs right out of high school.

"They don't realize that it can take engineers 10 years (of school) to make $50,000, but you can make that in two years working in construction," DeVita said. And any workers who choose to earn a degree later - an option he pursued - can apply that practical experience when they are in college.

"If you do (construction) first, architecture and engineering make much more sense," he said.

The center's apprenticeship program has 210 students who are earning college credit as they gain practical job skills. When they complete their training, which includes 360 hours of training and 4,000 hours on the job, they'll have only seven more classes to take through Clatsop Community College to receive an associate's degree.

DeVita said the program has not taken new apprentices for the last four months because the economic slowdown has challenged graduates' abilities to get jobs.

"The full impact has not hit us yet," he said. "But it's slower than last year. People who don't have skills are going to be the first left out in the cold."

Apprentices learn math skills, leadership training, and safety and medical information, in addition to basic construction skills.

Center instructor Shon Brinkmeyer said the center helps launch young people into lucrative careers. Those entering the apprenticeship program need at least a 10th-grade education and must be at least 18. The other requirements are less tangible.

David Wood with Hoffman Construction hires tower crane operators. He said trained apprentices are of paramount importance to the construction field.