Kobus Diver

A Powell High School senior has received OSHA 10, Photoshop and Unmanned Aircraft General certifications thanks to the Career Technical Education program.

Kobus Diver, who is gravitating towards an electrical apprenticeship at Northwest College, plans to leverage his OSHA 10 certification in future jobs. OSHA 10 is 10 hours of safety training and practice tests that culminate in a final test. Students must pass with at least 80% to become OSHA certified.

“When you come on with a certification they don’t have to train you, they don’t have to pay for your training because you already have it,” Diver said. “It’s just kind of nice, like, ‘Oh, hey, I can go do that now.’ And I think it’s a walk-on raise on most jobs.”

Diver earned his OSHA certification his sophomore year, and earned his UAG and Photoshop certifications his junior year.

“So [UAG] it’s a drone license,” Diver said. “I can go fly drones for a realty company. And I can make money off that legally.”

He was able to earn these multiple certifications by taking a requisite number of courses in a certain CTE pathway, said Work Experience Coordinator Tammy Schiermeister.

CTE topics are divided into programs of study and then into pathways, said Schiermeister. Pathways include careers such as construction, once a student has taken three pathway courses and two of them concentrate on a specific pathway they are eligible to earn certifications.

In the 2021-2022 school year students earned roughly 60 certifications. In 2023 approximately 14 students have already earned certifications and many are working on an OSHA 10 certification. For 2021-2022 the two most popular certifications were OSHA 10 and Photoshop. Schiermeister said OSHA 10 is popular as it covers multiple pathways including welding, woodworking and CAD. Other available certifications are Photoshop, Illustrator, Basic Life Support and First Aid CPR AED, ParaPro Assessment, ServSafe, Guest Service Gold, Principles of Floral Design Certification, Fundamentals of Animal Science, Principles of Livestock Selection and Evaluation, Wyoming Pesticide Certification and Unmanned Aircraft General.

Schiermeister said Powell High School has offered certifications for many years and has been offering industry certifications for the last three to four years at the direction of the Career Technology Education Department to the state. Because of this a student’s first certification is reimbursed by the state and all subsequent certifications are paid for by the school district. 

Diver has multiple certifications and although he is currently focusing on using his OSHA 10, he said the opportunity for students to get certifications is valuable.

“Even if you’re not going to use them, you never know where you’re gonna end up,” Diver said.