JEFFERSON TWP — Knoch High School seniors in the near future might have an option other than college or a dead-end job.

Principal Todd Trofimuk is working with three manufacturers within the school district to create a co-op program that would allow 30 to 40 seniors to attend school for a half-day and participate in a junior apprenticeship program at one of the companies for the other half.

Trofimuk said the program would be aimed at students who have a decent academic record, but don't want to attend college or are not sure of their future path.

He said the students would learn the jobs in a hands-on way at Penn United Technology, Oberg Industries and Brayman Construction in preparation for entering the companies' apprenticeship programs after graduation.

Trofimuk said the graduates could earn a living wage at the companies instead of dropping out of college with debt or working a dead-end job for minimum wage.

The junior apprenticeship program could also prevent young people from leaving the area or state for a decent wage elsewhere, Trofimuk said.

He said one population of students will go from high school to college, while another does not possess the academic ability to move to a higher-skill job after high school.

“Now, you're looking at a swath of kids in the middle, who know algebra 2 and calculus,” Trofimuk said. “You're looking at a group of kids who have the academic ability, but still lack some direction.”

He said the junior apprenticeship program could be an option for those students who love working with their hands, did not attend the Butler County Vocational-Technical School and are not interested in college.

The high school is now in its first year of an early release program for seniors in which they attend school for a half-day and go to work the other half.

Trofimuk said the next step is to help seniors into jobs that could significantly affect their future paths.

He said the worst that could happen is that students decide a job in industry or manufacturing is not for them — and even then, they have not lost anything.

“I think this is a great opportunity for our kids and our business partners,” Trofimuk said.

The program would meet state Department of Education graduation requirements as well, Trofimuk said.

Scott Covert, training coordinator at Penn United Technology, said his company is still in talks with the school regarding the program.

“We talked with Knoch about Penn United Technology being involved and working on details to see if we could make that happen,” Covert said of the program.

He said in addition to being beneficial to the students, the program could provide much-needed employees at all the companies involved.

“We used to compete for work,” Covert said of local companies. “Now, we compete for workers.”

Trofimuk said he has appointments in the next few weeks to further discuss the program with Oberg and Brayman, and he hopes other companies will join in.

“My ultimate goal would be to have even more (industry) options for the kids,” he said.