CHAMPAIGN — At just 18, Russell Primmer has big plans. He wants to get a college degree, become a contractor and open his own business.

The Central High School senior is well on his way, enrolling in every woodworking and carpentry class available, working in a summer construction program and taking advantage of a dual-credit course at Parkland College.

His career plans clicked after his first semester of woodworking with Alex Ramirez, Central's industrial-education teacher.

"Once he saw me complete my first project" — a speaker box for his car — "he said, 'Most people don't make stuff like this.' If I hadn't met him, I wouldn't have any idea what I wanted to do."

Hoping to offer more students that opportunity, a group of educators, union and business leaders and city officials will meet at an industrial education "summit" Wednesday morning at Central.

The meeting was convened by Marc Changnon, coordinator of Unit 4's Education to Careers and Professions Program, who'd like to see those groups pool their efforts to expand high school offerings in construction trades, energy technology and other vocational courses.

"We think we can do more if we work together as a community," he said.

He invited almost 50 people from Champaign schools, Parkland College, the building industry, trade unions, University of Illinois, Champaign-Ford Regional Office of Education and the city of Champaign.

Changnon said he knows students who've gone through college and haven't been able to find jobs, and others who've expressed interest in a trade but didn't find enough opportunities in the school system.

"The demand is there," he said.

Ramirez is Central's only industrial-education instructor, and Centennial High School has no industrial-arts program. Centennial students are bused to Central for classes, Changnon said, which means they sometimes miss the first 10 minutes of class or arrive back to Centennial late for other classes.

"We need to do something about that," he said. "We have no money. We're like everybody else. Let's turn to our community, let's make sure we're offering our students the very best in educational opportunities and exploration of careers."

He hopes to create a committee to come up with concrete suggestions by November.

The school district already has a dual-credit program with Parkland College for automotive technology, construction, and industrial technology and manufacturing. Students can take courses as juniors and seniors in high school and earn college credit, saving them time and money, he said.

They can graduate with 24 hours of college credit, halfway to an industrial technology certificate, and Parkland will also help them land a paid summer internship, Ramirez said.

Area districts also participate in a summer construction program through the Education for Employment office. This year 60 students applied for 15 positions, including Primmer. They built a garage for a local resident from ground up, foundation to roof.

"There are a lot of kids interested in the trades," said Ramirez, who teaches courses on architecture, construction, woodworking and technology concepts at Central. He'd like to teach more but doesn't have time.

"There are more kids than we have classes available," he said.

School districts have scaled back on their vocational education programs as the emphasis has shifted to encouraging every student to go to college, Changnon said. That's particularly true in an "educational hub" like Champaign-Urbana, Ramirez said.

Students who earn a bachelor's degree or beyond typically make more money over their lifetimes than those with high school diplomas, and every child needs some kind of postsecondary education, Changnon said. But schools need to address all career paths.

"We have individuals who want to go to college, a two-year school in automotive technology, so they can fix your brakes so you don't go out and kill people," Chagnon said, arguing those jobs pay well, too.

When Chagnon graduated from Central in 1970, shop class was a part of the school day, and it was "a great learning experience," he said.

"I know it's very expensive to continue to upgrade equipment and stay on top of these things," he said. If the school district can't afford it, then it should turn to its community partners for ideas, he said.

"Our work force here is going to retire in 10 or 15 years. We need a lot of people to replace them," added Ramirez.

Representatives of various trade unions work with students through the schools and during the summer construction project, he said.

Bob Withers, training director for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 601 in Champaign, said his union still gets plenty of apprentices, but many are from smaller high schools outside Champaign-Urbana.

"It seems like a lot of the vocational-type classes have been dropped, especially from Champaign-Urbana," he said.

High school students "don't know for sure what they're going to do for the rest of their lives," he said, and those who aren't college-bound need more options.