BUTLER TWP — Butler County Area Vocational-Technical School instructors learned Wednesday that local health care agencies are competing for staffing against service-oriented jobs that have similar or equal pay.

Tonya Blank, health assistant instructor at the vo-tech, said educators are trying to give students the real-world experience necessary to work in health care fields while also persuading them of the internal rewards those jobs can offer.

“The problem with the world today is they can make just as much money at Sheetz as they can in a nursing home,” Blank said. “They go in and they realize how much work it is, and at 16 they don’t want to do it. It’s kind of sad.”

The fall operational advisory committee meeting, held Wednesday at the county vo-tech school, was a way to let educators know where to focus their lessons. That way, students can graduate with the skills necessary to work at a local agency, said Jen Hindman, sports medicine instructor at the school.

“The whole purpose is to have community and industry support for our programs and making sure we are able to meet their standards,” Hindman said. “It’s making sure we have the correct equipment, the right lesson plans.”

The occupational advisory committee meets twice a year to ensure that the school is teaching skills that match the needs of the local health care organizations. They also make sure the equipment used by the school matches the equipment used at those agencies.

Organizations at the meeting included several branches of Butler Health System, the Ellen O'Brien Gaiser Center, Butler County Community College, Newhaven Court at Clearview, and Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, among others.

Blank also referenced a session that took place at the end of last school year, where employees from Sunnyview interviewed students to see if they could be accepted into the nursing assistant program, and suggested the school organize a similar event this year.

“I would like to do that this year if we have a facility that is interested,” Blank said.

Regina Hiler, executive director of the vo-tech, said the contributions of local health care professionals help the educators mold their classes to best assist students in finding jobs in the area after graduation.

Hindman said the meetings also help instructors find job shadowing opportunities for students. Not all students need to complete a job shadow for their fields, but Hindman said this can be a good experience for them.

“We have to see what is feasible with our resources,” Hindman said. “Every student in health care careers has different needs.”

Hindman said having meetings twice a year is beneficial to the instructors, because there are often new opportunities for student involvement brought up at every meeting.

“We just talked about new partnerships and updating the ones we already have,” Hindman said. “The big takeaway is seeing the opportunities we have for getting kids involved in real-world health care careers.”