MOUNT VERNON — Many students struggle to find the link between what they are learning and how it applies to their life. The Knox Summer Manufacturing Camp seeks to make that connection as well as ensure a pipeline of talent into the skilled trades.
Tanner Salyers, in his capacity as teacher at Goal Digital Academy, started the camp in 2018. The 2020 camp is a joint effort between the Knox County WorkForce Development Alliance (WorkDev), an outreach of the Area Development Foundation; Fredericktown-based EPIK Ltd, an applied technology engineering company involved with WorkDev; and Sean McCutcheon, the recently hired career navigator serving several local schools.
Epik’s Tyler Shinaberry said his company is involved with developing career paths from pre-K to retirement.
“This [camp] covers the pivotal moments between fifth and eighth grade,” he said.
This year’s camp, which runs July 13 through July 17, will move online due to COVID-19 restrictions. Students will use Google Classrooms for schedules and information and Zoom for presentations by manufacturing, financial, and Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation representatives.
Local manufacturers include FT Precision, Owens-Corning, Coyne Graphic Finishing, and Ver-Mac Industries.
Although it’s moving online, the camp still includes hands-on learning through four STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) projects the students work on in their home.
“They’re not just random projects,” said McCutcheon. “They are directed back to manufacturers used during the course of the week.”
Shinaberry said the goal is to “bridge gaps” between audiences and show students how products go from raw materials to a finished piece.
“Instead of just hearing what Coyne does, the students will actually do it in their home,” explained McCutcheon.
Projects include building an engine model (relating to FT Precision manufacturing engines) and a deer head (relating to Coyne’s cardboard displays).
To encourage them to pay attention and go “above and beyond,” students can take quizzes to research companies and schools and to answer hidden “Easter eggs.” Students who complete these activities will be entered into a prize raffle.
The camp culminates in Family Day, which Shinaberry said “means the most because it ties everything together.” Community leaders and educators will join the students and parents in discussing education paths and opportunities.
“That’s where we correlate math with working on robots,” he said. “Or maybe the student doesn’t want to work with robots, but wants to help people. We can show them that you need the same math skills in a medical field.”
There is no charge to participate in the manufacturing camp. The Knox County Educational Service Center, through a grant from the Knox County Foundation, is funding the camp. The camp is open to Knox County students only.
Registration is still open, but students are encouraged to sign up as soon as possible as McCutcheon plans to deliver project materials to students’ homes on Friday. For more information or to register, visit the Knox Summer Manufacturing Camp’s Facebook page or email McCutcheon at smccutcheon@knoxesc.org.
The career path less taken
Results of a workforce development survey completed by the Area Development Foundation last year showed that manufacturing and healthcare account for one-third of Knox County’s employment. Projections through 2026 show a need for 4,200 manufacturing workers and 2,400 healthcare workers.
However, local employers echo a national trend when they say they cannot find skilled tradespeople to fill available positions. As a way to ensure a pipeline of talent into the skilled trades, the ADF, in collaboration with the United Way of Knox County, Knox County Foundation, and Centerburg, Danville, East Knox, and Fredericktown schools, created the Career Navigator position.
As career navigator, McCutcheon works to create local career awareness for the career path less taken: manufacturing, healthcare, and other skilled trades. Hired early this year, he planned to be in the schools working with non-college bound juniors and seniors.
Then COVID-19 hit. Schools closed and WorkDev canceled a manufacturing expo. The Knox Summer Manufacturing Camp is now McCutcheon’s first chance to get exposure for the CN position.
“It’s a resource a lot of kids don’t know about,” he said, adding that he is excited that a handful of teachers will be involved in the manufacturing camp. “If you educate a teacher, you educate a whole bunch of people.
“Teachers will learn about manufacturing and earn CEUs for it,” he continued. “This is a good opportunity to further spread the word about not only the career navigator position, but also local manufacturing.”
“Sean’s role as career navigator is to grab the 11th and 12th grades,” said Shinaberry. “This [camp] kind of shifted from 11th to 12th to a little bit younger. We’re trying to get them excited to go into high school.”
“We can set their pathway at an early age,” added McCutcheon. “We’re trying to get parents involved, especially on Family Day.”
By reaching youth at the sixth- to eighth-grade level, McCutcheon can help them tailor their classes in high school, through college prep and toward an associate degree. Ultimately, it provides local manufacturers with a supply of skilled workers.
“We are giving them all these opportunities, and Sean as career navigator will help them with the path and classes applicable to what they want to do,” said Shinaberry. “Sean’s role is so pivotal in all of this. We’re exposing, he’s engaging.”
The presentations students will view include local employees discussing not what they do in their job but who they are as a person.
“How that employee got from middle school to high school to post-high school to where they are now,” explained McCutcheon.
“The goal is to show [the students] how they can get on a financially and personally rewarding career path,” added Shinaberry.
Local manufacturers have responded positively to the summer camp and its goals. Shinaberry said that one manufacturer asked for the information to be repeated six times during the school year, something easily done as this year’s camp was revamped to accommodate online learning.
“They’re asking how do we get 300 students involved,” said McCutcheon. “Why [limit the camp] to just 15?”
“We are teaching these kids how to be a good asset to their community, an asset to their employer at such a young age,” said Shinaberry. “They are getting more than manufacturing exposure. They’re learning financial information and how to handle themselves.”
