The Oakland Schools Technical Campuses (OSTC) have been equipping students with practical skills since rebranding in 2000 as a vocational training provider. 

While many students go on to pursue a traditional four-year degree after attending a technical campus, others convert their newly acquired skills into full-time careers after graduation.  

“Our goal is to have students explore, experience, and excel.” Oakland Schools K-12 Career Readiness Supervisor Paul Galbenski said. “Driven by hands-on programs that students are enrolled in with the ultimate goal of earning technical skills along with their academic skills, so that they’re career and college ready.” 

Galbenski and the expert instructors at OSTC agree that giving students multiple avenues to explore their interests produces successful future professionals. To help prepare students, they’ve partnered with the county’s Oakland80 team. 

 “The Oakland80 initiative is making sure that the residents secure a degree or credential beyond high school,” he states. “At the technical campuses, our goal for our students is to obtain at least one industry credential while they're there. We are helping to fulfill the Oakland80 mission at the secondary level.” 

The partnership between OSTC and Oakland80 has always been mutually beneficial.  

OSTC serves as Oakland County’s Career and Technical Education provider. They work alongside the Career and Education Advisory Council, developing regional strategic plans and securing funding to support these programs.   

Across their four campus locations, OSTC offers seventeen career and technical education programs, including automotive technology, computer programming and health sciences. Roughly 2,800 students are bused daily from their home districts to their respective technical campus, where they spend 2.5 hours of the school day engaged in hands-on learning.  

 “All of this leads to helping them gain the skills and abilities to be career-ready in their field of choice. That's what sets us apart,” said Galbenski. We're driven by allowing those students to earn industry credentials, stackable industry credentials, as well as a work-based learning experience.”   

OSTC instructors provide students with a glimpse into the world of working professionals. Using equipment purchased by Oakland Schools and donated by local employers, students gain experience representative of a real day on the job.  

The biggest example of these students' accomplishments is a 1,300 square foot three-bedroom, two-bath home, built entirely by OSTC Northeast Campus construction students on school grounds. This home is then moved to the city of Pontiac in an effort to expand affordable housing options.  

During the 2025 OSTC Northeast House Move, Oakland County Neighborhood & Housing Development Officer, Khadija Walker-Fobbs, addressed students and stated, "The most important thing is what you've built is going to go to a family. It's going to give somebody a home. And there is nothing that I can think of that should make you all prouder of what you've been able to work towards."    

"These are the types of things where you can see the immediate impact that having these skills in these professional skilled trades," says Galbenski. "It is a ripple effect for not only the students, but also a family in the community."    

With the skilled trades shortage in Michigan expected to persist until 2030, earning a credential in this area and experience like this is what sets Oakland County students apart, preparing them to fill the anticipated 45,000 job openings in Michigan alone. 

“The programs offered at the technical campuses not only provide students with a pathway to industry-recognized credentials, but they give students a clear path to a bright future,” says Rana Al-Igoe, Oakland80 Administrator. These students gain real-world experience in a field they truly care about. OSTC students are encouraged to unearth their passions while contributing to the County’s post-secondary attainment goal.”