Abstract

The Columbia Career Center, Columbia, Missouri, has the nation's only 3-year Photonics program at the high school level. The goal of the program is to encourage students to become laser/electro-optics technicians (LEOTs) as a response to the international shortage of skilled workers in this field. High school students are being trained at the Career Center to use class 3B and Class 4 lasers (with engineering controls) to meet the American National Standard for Safe Use of Lasers in Educational Institutions (ANSI Z136.5 - 2000)1 as part of our curriculum. This paper examines both the successes and challenges associated with training and working with high school students, from both the trainers and students' perspectives. It is our hope that we can help prepare students to work to industrial safety standards at the post-secondary level and beyond.

A formatted Microsoft Word version of this paper is available for download here.

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