Diversity in Action magazine featured the SME Education Foundation’s efforts to reach more students from underrepresented groups and provide them with opportunities to pursue careers in the manufacturing industry.
Hollenstein Career and Technology Center prepares high school students for careers in manufacturing by training students in mechatronics, CNC, 3D printing and robotics. The school has gained notoriety for its prowess in SkillsUSA competitions and its recognition as the only SME PRIME school in Texas.
Roush Industries is making a difference by investing in the SME PRIME schools initiative to prepare Starkweather Academy students for opportunities as machinists, welders and fabricators. The company helps to inform and provide modern equipment, tailored curriculum and hands-on training for the school in Plymouth, Michigan.
Kouts High School from a small, close-knit community near Valparaiso, Indiana, came out ahead and won the manufacturing competition at the 2019 FABTECH Student Summit. The SME Education Foundation Student Summit event series is one solution that through student-centric programming, effectively addresses the misperception often held by young people that manufacturing is dull, dirty and dying.
Students from Kouts High School explored career opportunities within the skilled trades at FABTECH. The students left the conference and event with a deeper understanding of manufacturing and how it all comes together at the end.
Whitehall High School students explore manufacturing while learning about the engineering process as they train on Dremel 3D40 3D printers and tour local manufacturing companies during class field trips.
Plymouth, Michigan based Master Automatic helped create the SME PRIME school program at Plymouth-Canton Community Schools. The partnership expands their talent pipeline – and will create opportunities for area young people to explore and grow in manufacturing.
Industry 4.0 ushered in new technologies, new products and new ways of working. It's imperative that high schools keep pace with the skills they teach to prepare them for the next generation workforce. SME PRIME schools give manufacturing students a head start, as they inspire them to use and test the skills they learn in the classroom during regular class projects as well as occasional special assignments.
The pre-engineering students at Grand Haven High School get a wealth of experience from the SME PRIME program through technical training and tailored curriculum informed by local manufacturing partner Shape Corp.
The 2019 WESTEC Student Summit Racing Challenge winning team from Sato Academy of Mathematics and Science in Long Beach, California used important skills like teamwork and collaboration that they acquired from their classroom training to blow away the manufacturing competition and secure the victory.