'Manufacturing Inspirations Day' at Appleton West High School, Oct. 4, 2023. PC: Fox 11 Online
APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — October is Manufacturing Month.
More than 750 Appleton-area middle and high school students spent the day learning how to choose a career path, specifically, in manufacturing.
On Wednesday, manufacturers from across the state took part in the area’s first-ever ‘Manufacturing Inspirations Day,’ an interactive career exploration event.
“I want to go into the trades, like a lineman,” said Max Ekins, a senior at Appleton North.
“I’m looking more towards the trades, more towards welding. I really like welding,” said Colin Larsen, a junior at Appleton North.
Both Ekins and Larsen say they’re interested in a career in manufacturing, because of the hands-on experiences.
“Right out of school, you can pretty much get an apprenticeship,” said Ekins. “A lot of the booths here offer apprenticeships, so it’s kind of cool you kind of just get out of school and go right to work.”
Co-hosted by the Appleton Technical Academy, the event brought more than 20 local manufacturers to Appleton West to engage students in hands-on activities, in hopes it will help them better understand career opportunities in the manufacturing sector.
“The idea is for our kids, there’s a couple of things; one, they’re going to specialize in one of our four areas,” said Paul Endter, lead teacher at ATECH.
Endter says these areas are welding, machining, mechanical design and automation.
“Kids are not sitting traditionally in a desk and just kind of doing stuff with paper and pencil or a computer, they’re actually physically engaging in the curriculum,” he said.
ATECH is a public charter school located within Appleton West. It’s focus is to develop skills necessary for successful entry into the manufacturing workforce.
“I heard from family members how great of a school this is to set me up with a career,” said Sammy Solis, a junior at ATECH.
Solis has already begun his career journey at CR Meyer as an apprentice.
“We preperate pipes, disinfect them, get them ready for shipping,” he said.
Tyler Hermsen, labor relations manager for CR Meyer’s piping division, says the company has seen an increase in interest for manufacturing jobs, and it’s thanks to events being put on like this one.
“For pipe fitters, we work through Local 400. Local 400 put on 100 new apprentices this year,” said Hermsen. “When I was in high school, I did a youth apprenticeship program. I went to school for half a day, and then went to work another half of the day, and that’s how I got my apprenticeship and now I’ve been in the service for 20 years.”
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