This bathroom was assembled entirely by students over the course of a school year at Baker High School.

Teachers in the Baker High School workshop spaces are quick to say that education lays the foundation for real-world success.

And almost as quick to say that laying actual foundations for buildings is a high-paying career.

Skills in constructing and engineering are in high demand, and at BHS students are getting hands-on training in both.

Teacher Bill Markgraf has been heading the construction class for five years, and he said students are finding career opportunities outside the classroom.

“(Before teaching) I was a contractor for 25 years,” said Markgraf, sometimes having to shout over the whine of saws, drills and group conversations in his shop space at BHS.

Around him, students fabricated buildings, some from learning kits and some from raw materials.

Coursework starts with basic cutting, gluing and assembling techniques, but advances to full-scale construction.

Inside the shop stands a spacious bathroom that was framed, roofed, wired, drywalled, painted and plumbed entirely by students.

“Basically it’s just a small building that I try to put as much construction material into as I can, given limited shop space,” Markgraf said. “The intention was to put in as much as I could, save as much as I can. I’ll probably change the floor plan and make it again next year.”

On the second floor deck in the shop, students marked beams for the installation of electric lines, under Markgraf’s supervision. They also prepared to replace a window damaged during construction.

“It’s a realistic setting for learning electrical and plumbing,” Markgraf said.

Even if students don’t go onto a career in construction, the skills can help them take on basic home repairs with confidence, he said.

Donations help students

Markgraf said BHS receives a lot of donated materials from local businesses including Thatcher’s Ace Hardware, Cashway Lumber and Miller’s Home Center.

Some of the items, which were mistakenly ordered or slightly damaged, would otherwise go to the landfill, but they can serve a valuable purpose in his classroom.

Movers and shakers

In addition to the hands-on work, students can hone their ability to operate heavy equipment with the simulators that are part of Baker Technical Institute.

“The excavator simulation doesn’t even start until you conduct the walkaround (in virtual), so don’t even turn it on unless you’ve got 30 minutes to spare,” Markgraf said. “They can run eight or nine different machines from the same seat. Grader, excavator, bulldozer, tractor, it switches back and forth.”

Students poured concrete for the greenhouse patio northwest of BHS, and they installed the ornamental wooden pergola in front of it.

Nicole Merchant, who teaches a parallel shop skills class in the same shop as Markgraf, said some students grow into these fields, somewhat literally, in the service of family ranching.

“It varies, some get into the field, and for some it’s just good skills to have,” Merchant said. “Some of these kids are ranch farm kids, it crosses a line into the state FFA contests. Wiring small engines, tractor implement identification, welding skills, land surveying. Not that they’re completely proficient, but they’ll know enough to at least get started.”

Markgraf says that some of the more advanced classes have bused in participants from North Powder, Keating, Halfway and Huntington.

As well, on occasion the students get real machines to train with at the dirt tracks north of the Baker Sports Complex soccer fields.

Markgraf also introduces students to related fields such as 3-D printing, robotics and virtual design.

On the larger scope, the U.S. has a shortage of construction workers estimated at half a million employees.

Markgraf said students who are qualified to work in these industries are thriving.

He said one former student is taking home nearly $30 an hour welding at a shipyard.