Fairdale High students showcase skills for employers

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Students in Fairdale High School’s diesel tech and heavy machinery classes showed employers what they’ve learned in class.

Wednesday was also a chance for those students to talk to the representatives and interview for summer jobs.

Diesel tech instructor Stephen Crepps said they wanted to bridge the gap between the companies and his students.

“When you get them as freshmen and you watch them grow and help them learn and then you get to see them transition into the workplace... it’s a fantastic feeling,” Crepps said.

Students in the heavy machinery class showed skills by scooping and dumping materials and knocking golf balls off traffic cones with excavators to show precision.

Jackson Walker is a senior in the diesel tech program. He started when he was a freshman and fell in love with it.

He said the program taught him the ins and outs of diesel engines, how to diagnose issues, and how to fix them.

He also said his skills come in handy when something breaks in the heavy machinery class, or when a friend’s car needs an oil change.

Walker currently works for Caterpillar. He said after graduation, the company will send him to Illinois for training and to further his education for two years. He’ll then return as an intern for another two years.

Between heavy machinery and diesel tech, about 200 students are part of the program.

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