WDC students visited local manufacturers

High school seniors from Grant County Career Center recently toured several area facilities where they learned about career opportunities in manufacturing, as part of a program offered at Cincinnati State’s Workforce Development Center (WDC).

The 10-week program that ran from January through March was sponsored through a grant administered by Easter Seals of Greater Cincinnati.

Jason Hendrickson, former WDC Assistant Business Manager for Industrial Maintenance, said the program goal was to introduce the high school students to options in Greater Cincinnati, and “get them excited about careers in manufacturing.”

Tour sites and training activities included:

Makino – Students learned about manufacturing of high-end CNC cutting machines, the types of parts that can be made with Makino machines, and how the machines are controlled.

Kellogg’s – Students observed processes for making and packaging Club Crackers, including mixing raw ingredients, shaping the crackers, baking, sleeving, and packaging.

Metropolitan Sewer District at Mill Creek – Students learned how waste water from the city is cleaned and then discharged into the Ohio River. Processes observed included separating, sanitizing, testing, and incineration.

Jason said the processes students observed at the three facilities used the control methods they had learned about in the classroom portion of their program: pneumatics, hydraulics, and electrical and computer control.

Jason added, “The students gained understanding of the foundations of almost all manufacturing, and we hope some of them were inspired to pursue manufacturing careers when they graduate from high school.”