Manchester students attend Manufacturing Day at WCC
WCC instructor Nathan Oliver leads Rowen Howard and Zane Sayer (L–R) of Manchester High School through an exercise in the college’s welding lab. Photo courtesy of Fran LeFort.
submitted by Fran LeFort, Washtenaw Community College
Approximately 160 students from area high schools, including students from Manchester, visited Washtenaw Community College (WCC) Manufacturing Day 2024 on Friday, October 4, to learn about high-demand careers in advanced manufacturing. Students from eight Washtenaw County Schools toured WCC’s Welding, Automation and Robotics, and CNC Machining labs. The mechatronics field includes automation, robotics, industrial electronics, and fluid power skills.
Manufacturing Day highlights educational pathways and career possibilities in the high-wage, high-demand job sector. The U.S. will need nearly 4 million manufacturing jobs over the next decade, and half of those could be unfilled by 2030, according to workforce projections.
The college has joined hands with industry partners on apprenticeship programs that allow students to simultaneously work and attend school. Among apprenticeship opportunities is the 18-month Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME) program. The second FAME cohort enrolled this fall. FAME is anchored by Toyota North America, with other employers C&B Machinery, Flexible Metals, Sensitile, Technique Inc., Orbitform, Caster Concepts, Lomar Machine & Tool Company, and Novi Precision. WCC is the only Michigan college in the national FAME work-and-learn program, which equips students with skills required for the rapidly evolving manufacturing industry.
Participants in the FAME program can be recent high school graduates, military members transitioning to the workforce, or individuals looking to move into a new career path. Applications for next year’s FAME cohort are being accepted now. WCC also partners with ZOLLER Inc. and other companies and is an intermediary with the U.S. Department of Labor, working with local industry partners to develop new USDOL registered apprenticeship opportunities.
For this year’s Manufacturing Day, WCC is coordinating with the Washtenaw Intermediate School District to bring students from the South & West Washtenaw Consortium Computer Integrated Manufacturing, South & West Washtenaw Consortium Welding, Chelsea Engineering/Robotics, Manchester Engineering Technology, Ann Arbor Engineering, Lincoln Engineering Technology, and Ypsilanti Machining programs. In addition to faculty members who lead tours through WCC’s advanced manufacturing labs, staff members from the college’s financial aid, recruiting, foundation, and other offices were on hand to answer questions.
A scholarship to WCC will be awarded to one student from each group.
Harper Doyle of Manchester High School and classmates visit WCC industry partner tables at Manufacturing Day 2024 held at the Ann Arbor campus. Photo courtesy of Fran LeFort.
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