This article is written by Michael Snow. It was posted on wowt.com on October 10, 2017.

A good career does not always require a 4-year college degree. Boys Town educators know that. They say the key to a secure future could be in trade.

For some students like Teshar Roque, college is not always the best option – or even possible.

"I'm much a hands-on learner. I don't like to be in text books too much," he said.

Trading in textbooks for a set of tools could be the path to a successful career.

Boys Town says learning a trade will get Teshar and others on the right path.

"We're teaching them a career skill so when they leave hear they are able to feed their families and live in the kind of home they want to live in. Where they want to live in. We are enabling them to have a life," said trades teacher Jim Clements.

Teshar is in the small engine class. Right now, he's working on building a Go Cart from scratch.

"So what Mr. Clements does for us is we spend 10 or 15 minutes talking about our projects and how much time we have to clean up the shop. Then we come out and the sky is the limit," he said.

One of the most popular classes is the automotive class where students are taking an old car apart and then rebuilding it.

"I'm doing something that some people don't even get the opportunity to do. Some schools don't even have this type of stuff," said student Ty Jones.

"I'm not someone who didn't have their future planned out and this is something that has given me a clear path to take," Teshar told 6 News.

Boys Town is looking to add more programs including a culinary arts program as soon as next year.

This is the third year of the trade programs. Boys Town is working with shops around Omaha to set up students with internships and jobs directly out of high school.