Approximately 160 students from area high schools visited Washtenaw Community College for Manufacturing Day 2024 to learn about high-demand careers in advanced manufacturing and the educational pathways to help them achieve their goals.
A number of students said they plan to enroll at WCC next Fall.
Thomas Gantz, Zane Sayer and Harper Doyle, all from Manchester High School, were among the group whose first stop allowed them to get hands-on inside WCC’s welding lab, which is one of the largest in the state. WCC instructors led each student through making their own stainless steel cell phone stand as a keepsake.
All three said they plan to pursue careers in welding — more specifically Gantz in pipeline welding, Sayer in shipyard welding, and Doyle in underwater welding.
“This was my first time here. It was pretty cool,” said Gantz, who plans to enroll at WCC next fall and hopes to visit again in the coming weeks.
Manufacturing Day highlighted 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.
Students from eight Washtenaw County Schools toured WCC’s Welding, Automation and Robotics, and CNC Machining labs and visited with industry partners who hosted tables with additional information about careers and apprenticeship opportunities. The college has joined 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 Friday’s Manufacturing Day, WCC coordinated with the Washtenaw Intermediate School District to bring students from the South & West Washtenaw Consortium computer integrated manufacturing and welding programs, the Chelsea High School engineering/robotics program, the Manchester High School engineering technology program, The Ann Arbor Huron High School engineering program, the Ypsilanti Lincoln High School engineering technology and the Ypsilanti High School machining program.
Scholarships were also awarded.
In addition to faculty members who led tours through WCC’s advanced manufacturing labs, staff members from the college’s Financial Aid, Recruitment and Student Enrollment, WCC Foundation and other offices were on hand to answer questions.
PHOTO: WCC instructor Nathan Oliver (right) leads Manchester High School students Rowen Howard (left) and Zane Sayer through an exercise in the college’s welding lab.
