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While the rest of his classmates sat behind desks Thursday afternoon at Moffat County High School, 17-year-old Brandon Maigatter stood behind the counter at A & E Tires.

He held a long hammer in one hand and his hands were smeared in grease. A big smile was on his face.

“I get to take the last two hours of school to come work here, and I get credit for it,” he said. “I love it.”

Maigatter is one of about 40 students in the Alternative Cooperative Education work program at MCHS.

He attends classes in the morning and leaves school early for his job at A & E, where he receives an hourly wage, school credit and valuable experience for the future.

“I’ve learned so much in that class I couldn’t even explain it all,” Maigatter said. “I didn’t know how to do my taxes or fill out a job application or the right way to do a job interview.

“Now, I would feel totally comfortable applying for a job. I think every kid should take this class.”

The classroom part of the course, which is taught first and second periods by Joe Padon, teaches job-finding and personal finance skills, while the hours they spend at their chosen job gives students real-world job experience.

Padon said some students follow their interests and get jobs they might want after graduation.

Aspiring nurses have worked at Sandrock Ridge Care & Rehab, while some mechanics have found work at local repair shops.

Maigatter hopes to go on to the diesel program at Colorado Northwestern Community College and work on heavy equipment for a living. Working at a tire shop is a great starting point, he said.

Other students, Padon said, end up working at Walmart, City Market or Safeway, which can provide them with an understanding of how a career path can develop.

“It gets their feet wet and they sort of learn the totem pole, how you start off at the bottom and work your way up,” he said. “They may see a manager at the store and say, ‘Hey, I want to do that someday.’”

He also hopes it will motivate some students to examine their future options more closely by realizing earlier on what they don’t want to do for a living.

“I think this might help them realize, ‘Hey, this is not what I want to do,’” he said. “Sometimes kids come in and say, ‘This sucks, Mr. Padon. My job sucks.’ Well, that’s why we have to have good resumes and cover letters, and how we earn new positions by going to college.”

Although all of his students found jobs at the beginning of the school year, Padon said the economic recession has changed the job market, making it more difficult to stand out in an applicant pool.

“It’s been way harder this year,” Padon said. “It used to be if you wanted a job you could just stop in somewhere and ask. Now, it’s pretty hard because they’re not just competing with other high school kids, they’re competing against people in their 30s and 40s that have an education and can show that they’ve had work experience.”

He said the recession has changed the attitude of his students, who have realized how important it is to have a resume and cover letter, knock an interview out of the park and send a thank-you letter.

Even though finding a job in tough times can be challenging, Padon’s students also are learning that the challenges don’t end when they clock in to work.

Padon goes over the psychology of working, such as dealing with bad days at work, as well as managing a personal budget.

“I think they learn the importance of applying themselves and having a work ethic,” Padon said of the program. “They learn that they can’t just show up; showing up is just a part of it.

“They get the concept and value of having their own money.”

Nicole Inglis can be reached at 875-1793, or ninglis@craigdailypress.com.