NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas — Canyon High School is giving students the chance to earn school credit and have a paid internship through the new Construction Career Prep Course.

"It's a pretty good way to get into the construction field to know if that's what I want to do before majoring in it in college," senior Bryson Kizer said.

Junior and senior students are working with local contractors through a paid internship to learn trades like roofing, concrete and electrical work. Currently, 12 students are enrolled in the career prep course, getting hands-on training in the field and credit toward graduation, while earning a wage.

"It gives you an on-hand experience for real-world,” Kizer said. “It provides you with a job so you get to know what it's like in those companies and those industries to learn hands on. If that's what you want to do, you can go from this right onto doing it later."

This course also gives students a non-traditional route to take after they graduate by working in a fast-growing community.

"They can leave this program and walk across the stage on graduation and go be a year or two years ahead and walk into a job and make really good money," Construction Trades teacher Matt Owen said.

The students are working in one of the fastest growing regions in the country. More homes being built equals more jobs for skilled workers

"The growth on the IH-35 corridor right now is one of the most booming sections anywhere in the United States so there's a lot of opportunity,” Owen said. “There's a lot of money to be made and to be honest, a lot of kids are interested in working with their hands and being involved in a skilled trade.”

This is the first semester the school has had the construction career prep course.

The district hopes to add more company partnerships and more students in the years to come.