Be Pro Be Proud Mobile Workshop Brings Skilled Trades Exploration to Piedra Vista Students

More than 150 Piedra Vista High School students took turns welding, operating virtual heavy equipment, splicing fiber-optic cable and simulating commercial driving last week when the Be Pro Be Proud mobile workshop pulled up to the Farmington school for two days.

The truck spent March 25 and 26 at Piedra Vista, with students rotating through interactive simulation stations covering a range of technical careers that include construction trades, utility-line work and commercial transportation. The program is led by the New Mexico Chamber of Commerce Foundation in partnership with the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions and was designed specifically to give high schoolers direct, virtual-reality-based exposure to skilled careers before they commit to any post-graduation path.

Rob Leming, president and CEO of the New Mexico Chamber of Commerce Foundation, has described the initiative as a response to workforce-competitiveness research that identified skilled-trades shortages as one of the state's top economic problems. New Mexico is one of only six states running a Be Pro Be Proud program, and the mobile workshop format is central to its strategy: bring the simulations to students rather than wait for students to find their way to training programs.

That approach speaks directly to conditions in San Juan County, where employers in construction, utilities and manufacturing have struggled for years to recruit workers with the technical certifications those industries require. A student who has never seen a fiber-optic splice or sat behind the controls of a piece of heavy equipment is unlikely to seek out the training for it. The truck removes that barrier in a single school day.

Educators at Piedra Vista viewed the visit as a complement to existing career and technical education coursework already offered at the school. The visit also opens a practical conversation about deepening local partnerships, including dual-credit arrangements with San Juan College, apprenticeship slots with area trade employers and expanded connections with local unions that are actively trying to grow their pipelines.

Since its launch, the mobile workshop has reached thousands of students across New Mexico. Whether the Farmington stop converts into measurable gains, such as higher CTE enrollment or new apprenticeship agreements with county employers, will depend on the follow-through from school administrators and industry partners in the coming months.