Photo provided A new program at Wheeling Park High School to get students certified in areas pertaining to building automaton systems will start next fall. Pictured in front, from left, are students Logan Wilson, Paige Danehart and Gianna Mills. In back are Mikey Schehl, instructor for the program; Jack Doyle; Vice Principal Jack Doyle, career and technical education director; Principal Meredith Dailer; and Ohio County Schools Assistant Superintendent Rick Jones.

WHEELING – Wheeling Park High School students beginning next fall will get the opportunity to earn certification in building automation systems (BAS) while still in high school.

Participants would earn their final BAS certification with a focus on heating, ventilation and air conditioning control, but they would also receive micro-credentials along the way in such areas as building safety and in energy savings, according to Rick Jones, assistant superintendent of Ohio County Schools.

The school district is partnering with West Virginia Northern Community College to establish instruction where students can complete a two-year certification while at WPHS, then have the opportunity to obtain more accreditation at WVNCC after graduation.

The initial two-year certification comes at no cost to the student, though it will earn them a larger pay immediately after high school, Jones explained.

Ohio County Schools is spending $150,000 to purchase eight learning units for the program at which two students can work at one time. The first class next fall will be able to accept 16 students, according to Jones.

He noted the high school BAS certification program is the first of its kind in West Virginia in the career technology category.

After completion of each of eight modules in the BAS program at WPHS, the student receives a capstone industry certification as a BAS technician.

The BAS technician installs, programs, and troubleshoots computerized control systems for commercial HVAC, lighting, and security, optimizing for energy efficiency and comfort.

Certifications come under the Association of Controls Professionals: Technician Preparation and Credentialing, and the jobs are in high demand, Jones added.

Often the people who hold these jobs don’t work locally, but are instead controlling a building’s climate systems from a different city.

A search on Indeed for HVAC-related jobs within a 60-mile radius of Wheeling found there were 1,100 job openings in the area, he reported.

“It’s a needed field and a growing field, and these are well-paying jobs,” Jones said. “If you left Wheeling Park High School after two years in our program, you would be credentialed. The pay on the average is $70,000 for what we offer.”

Then if the same student went on to obtain additional certification at WVNCC, that pay could go up to over $100,000 a year, he continued.

If the class turns out to be popular, more learning units will be purchased, Jones noted.

He doesn’t know yet how well the program will be received.

“We just got it approved last week, and we will put it out there,” Jones said. “We will recruit kids we think fit the mold. Scheduling for next year is about to start, and we will put the word out for kids to sign up.”