Idaho high school and college students told legislators Tuesday they want more trade programs, financial aid and student advisers as they embark on their postsecondary education journey.

House Speaker Scott Bedke and Reps. Lori McCann, Brandon Mitchell and Caroline Troy attended an education roundtable discussion at the University of Idaho’s D.A. Huckabay M.D. Medical Education Building. Local business leaders also joined the discussion.

Martha Smith, a UI student from Kooskia, said a four-year college education is not always a possibility for students who come from small rural towns like hers.

“There’s a lot of kids that get lost in the woodwork,” she said.

Smith said she is one of two people in her high school graduating class who went on to higher education. Many of her peers went into trades, such as welding or plumbing. Some rural students she knows who went to college ended up dropping out.

That is why she advocates for more funding on trade programs for rural students.

Mitchell supported this sentiment and said this can start at the high school level, not just in postsecondary education.

“Let’s give people a skill before they step out of high school and then as they move forward in life, they’ve at least got a skill they can use,” he said.

Tanner McClain, student body president at the UI, said students need guidance on what careers they should pursue.

“I know a lot of students who currently don’t know what they’re doing after college,” he said. “They currently are lost.”

That is why he believes the Idaho government should support more student advisers at the college level to help students find their career path.

According to Matt Van Vleet, director of government relations for Clearwater Paper, his company’s recruiters told him their most valuable tool is finding universities that have good career services offices.

Those who choose college need to pay for it, and Moscow High School student Ian Schlater said he is considering going to a more affordable college outside Idaho.

Bedke said it “disturbs” policy makers that students are leaving Idaho because it is cheaper to do so. He added that the percentage of Idaho high school seniors who pursue postsecondary education is only 37%. The state’s goal is 60%

Schlater said he would like to see more merit-based scholarships to help the students who don’t qualify for need-based scholarships.

McClain also supports more merit-based financial aid. He said the State Board of Education found that one-third of high school students with a 3.9 or 4.0 grade point average went out of state for college.

Bedke said legislators and students across the state will hold similar roundtable discussions in different cities. After listening to Tuesday’s discussion, Bedke said he is frustrated by the disconnect between the state’s goals and what students are experiencing.

“We need to bridge this disconnect here,” he said.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.