Dutch Manufacturing to participate in StudentRun Manufacturing Enterprise Summit
Students from across the northwest and north central region of the Pennsylvania
Commonwealth will be convening on May 7 in Warren for the first annual Student-Run Manufacturing Enterprise (SRME) Summit hosted by Northwest Industrial Resource Center (NWIRC).
The Summit, with this year’s theme ‘Reaching New Heights’, is a conference geared for students who are running a manufacturing business, right out of their high schools, in order for them to share best practices for making their programs (businesses) stronger. Students will be presenting information about their successes and challenges over the past year, as well as providing tips and asking for advice.
The day will include team building activities, networking with company sponsors, and a panel discussion.
The business panel features individuals in various manufacturing roles, including
Rick Young, President of Sintergy; Kyle Astor, Manufacturing Engineer Manager at Acutec Precision Aerospace; Kevryn Boser-Dixon, Reliability Manager at American Refining Group, and Shana Bailey, Marketing Manager at Viking Plastics. The panelists will share experiences and answer questions from the students focused on various areas of manufacturing including leadership, sales, engineering, quality, and marketing.
The Dutch Manufacturing students are excited to meet other like-minded high school students and to have new career-focused opportunities and experiences. We can not wait to hear about how the other student-run businesses have progressed throughout this past school year.
Schools participating in this year’s Summit include: McDowell High School in Erie (McDowell Manufacturing), St Marys Area High School (Dutch Manufacturing), Bradford
Area High School (Parkway Industrial), Warren County Career Center (1st Class Precision Manufacturing), Clarion-Limestone High School (Lion Manufacturing), Titusville High School (Rocket Manufacturing), and Corry High School (in early planning stages of their program).
Businesses and organizations supporting the Summit include Haas, Miller Fabrication Solutions, Gasbarre Products, Ellwood Group, Beverage Air, American Refining Group, and NWPA-NTMA.
NWIRC was integral in helping these regional high schools plan and launch their programs, building awareness, and connecting with local manufacturers. The SRME model puts the information learned during coursework to practical use as they produce actual parts, deliver services, add value as part of the supply chain for local manufacturers, and possibly create their own original products.
Over the course of an academic school year, students learn about and perform different job functions in manufacturing, develop essential life-long skills, use advanced manufacturing technologies, and build relationships with local companies. At the same time this work readiness is occurring, capacity for local manufacturers is advancing and the next generation of manufacturing talent is being cultivated.
Through this experience, students interact with local manufacturers and learn their requirements – including performance metrics for production, quality, and on-time delivery. Students are getting the opportunity to be mentored, gain expert insight, and develop manufacturing skills.
The working relationships established and developed will position the students for future employment opportunities.
All of these regional SRME programs, and the Summit, are supported in part by The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) through the Manufacturing Training-to-Career grant program.