It was Groundhog Job Shadow Day at Pinellas County Job Corps today. A big shout-out to the City of St. Petersburg and its amazing staff for welcoming students in our Electrical and Facilities Maintenance Trades on different tours of City Departments including Stormwater, Water Resources and a special tour of the Southwest Water Reclamation Facility.

The City’s Horticulture Division is responsible for landscaping all the St. Petersburg medians as well as City properties and students learned about irrigation, the water truck, xeriscaping and more. Students also got to see some heavy equipment in action and learn about all that it takes to run a Water Reclamation facility.

Facilities Maintenance student Trey Sherrill felt he really got a lot out of the day. “I got to see a machine that rebuilds ditches and that was interesting,” said Sherrill. “I learned that no matter what you want to do, the City has jobs with good benefits and is a good place to work.”

Facilities Maintenance Instructor Len Amaral pointed out that a number of the workers have been with the City for a decade or two. “It’s a solid long-term career path for those who take responsibility seriously.” Groundhog Job Shadow Day is a longstanding tradition of Job Corps and gives students a great opportunity to learn about real world opportunities related to their trades within the community.