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Juniors at Charles Henderson High School got an inside look at job opportunities with The Boeing Company.

Frank Hatten, a program manager and education relations specialist with Boeing, spoke to students about skills they could develop during their high school years that could help them land a job with an advanced manufacturer right out of high school.

“Right now, in this state and in this school district, if you allow your teachers to do their job, you can get a great job with a great company right out of high school,” Hatten told the students. “You can get a job with a company that will pay you to go to college.”

Hatten told students, that as people were retiring from jobs at advanced manufacturers, there were no young people taking their place.

“If you don’t take these jobs, this country is in trouble,” Hatten said. “It’s not a question of if you’re smart enough. It’s a question of if you want it.”

Hatten explained that Boeing was known as an aircraft manufacture, but also made rockets and satellites, military aircraft and weapon systems as well as and developed technologies like Global Positioning Satellite systems.

Hatten said Boeing, and all other advanced manufacturers, would hire people straight out of high school for entry level positions. Hatten said those employees would also be eligible for company programs that would pay for a college education.

But, he said, students needed to learn certain skillsets in high school that would enable them to take advantage of opportunities for those entry level positions.

Hatten said those skills included:

• Problem solving

• Communication skills (presentation, visual, verbal and written)

• Creative thinking and innovation
• Computer skills
• Ability to understand and interpret designs and technical information
• Ability to follow directions
• Teambuilding
• Leadership
• Work safety and awareness of safety procedures.

Allisa Jordan, head of the science department at CHHS, said she saw a Boeing presentation at Maxwell Air Force Base and was impressed with what the company had to offer.

Boeing has a facility in Huntsville that has been in operation for more than 60 years. Boeing Huntsville is one of the largest aerospace companies in Alabama with more than 3,000 employees. The Boeing Company in Huntsville played a role in the Apollo programs and currently develops missile and weapon systems as well as the Space Launch System for the International Space Station.

“I was impressed with Boeing and I wanted to let our students know what opportunities were out there,” Jordan said.