LANSING – The Michigan Manufacturers Association plans to expand its Partnership in Manufacturing Education Program (PRIME) to more high schools across the state.
“This is an initiative that was created to bring engineering into schools.[The manufacturers]were focused on universities and realized that there was not enough preparation in the K-12 field.” said Bill Reil, the association's executive director of workforce solutions.
“Simply put, tech shop classes are coming back to high schools,” he says.
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The program provides schools with free access to state-of-the-art equipment, specialized curriculum, professional development for teachers, and scholarships for students who complete the program.
Currently, 33 high schools are participating, including schools in Grand Haven, Bay City, Alpena, Cheboygan, Hancock, Rudyard, Southfield, Holland, Pontiac and Three Rivers. Traverse City is expected to join the list later this year.
The manufacturer's association expects the number of participating schools to reach 50 by the end of the year.
The association “developed a strong partnership with the SME Education Foundation in 2021 to support the expansion of PRIME schools in the state,” Rail said.
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The program was established in 2011 to help implement manufacturing and engineering programs in high schools across the country.
“Programs like PRIME are needed because there is a huge talent gap,” said David Werthams, director of employment policy at the Manufacturers Association.
“If we just want to focus on manufacturing and the talent shortages that exist nationally, we're talking about $3 billion in lost productivity because positions can't be filled,” Werthams said. mentioned in.
Reil said the association is researching manufacturers' needs.
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His work involves working with manufacturers and partners in economic development, workforce development, and community development to “build employer-like partnerships around these schools and ensure that they last for decades to come.” It includes “making it possible.”
“This program allows participants to gain a broader understanding of manufacturing skills so that upon graduation they will have enough experience to continue their education or start a job or apprenticeship.” He said.
“There's a lack of awareness among young people about these careers, what they mean, how much they pay and how to acquire the skills needed to get them,” Reil said.
Grand Haven High School has already partnered with local manufacturer Shape to implement a trade skills curriculum.
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Werthams said students will receive a special note on their transcripts stating that they have completed the program and are “ready to pursue an internship at Shape immediately upon graduation.”
“When people hear that story, they want to attract prime schools there,” he said.
Jeremy Case, a technology education teacher at Grand Haven High School, said PRIME offers “a lot of benefits to our students.”
“Every year, we have at least one student who receives a healthy scholarship because of their participation in the PRIME program,” he said.
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Case said students are engaged in project-based learning and designing prototypes.
“This is a deeper dive into project-based design engineering. This is truly a pre-engineering program that introduces students to advanced manufacturing capabilities,” he said.
“We are so happy that so many of our students are able to go on to four-year universities to earn various engineering degrees, and they will tell you that the reason they did so was because of the classes,” Case said. Ta.
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