Plumbing Program at Kenwood Prepares Students for OSHA Certification

Kenwood is known for its variety of CTE classes to help prepare students for careers in various trade fields. Kenwood’s Plumbing program was one of the first established CTE classes on campus.
Plumbing is a great career to get into in high school. Students can start off as an apprentice when they turn 16 years old.

Kenwood’s plumbing teacher Mr. Mongan shares, “This Subject is REAL LIFE. In this class students will deal with real life plumbing problems. They will learn the basic steps in Trim-outs, which means putting in (faucets, toilets, and sinks), and doing service work. Students also learn to run water lines using copper after learning how to solder and do PVC plastic waste lines. These Basic Fundamental are the steps needed to become a good plumber.”

The knowledge they gain through the Plumbing CTE program and apprenticeships can make it easier to find a job in the plumbing industry right out of high school. Most plumbing industries won’t accept someone as an apprentice without prior knowledge of what they must do which is where Kenwood’s beginning plumbing courses and program becomes so important in preparing students.

Mr. Mongan has been teaching the plumbing classes for 17 years. He shares, “Within two years if students really set their mind to it, they can obtain they OSHA certificate and become an apprentice by the time they graduate.”

That in and of itself is why Kenwood’s plumbing program is a great career prep program. Baltimore County’s CTE department strives to “empower students to focus on career pathways that allow students to apply their academic and technical skills to authentic workplace situations, thereby fostering meaningful business partnerships and developing the skills required to become globally competitive citizens in a culturally diverse world.”

Apprentice Plumbers get paid an average of $47,180 dollars a year in Maryland. Students leave the program knowing the basics of a beginner plumber. This school year, despite the challenges of the virtual setting, ten Kenwood plumbing students, recently received their OSHA certificate with an average score of 83.7%!

Even if a student decides plumbing isn’t for them, they now have the added benefit of knowing how to deal with real life housing problems like plumbing which can get expensive if you’re having to always hire a plumber. Plumbing student Logan W plans to stick with it though. “It pays really decently and it also doesn’t take long to get into the field either which is really nice to be honest!”

Be sure to check out all of Kenwood’s other CTE programs here or follow our #kenwoodcte hashtag to more CTE coverage here at Kenwood!