New program exposes interns to manufacturing work

NEWARK — Gage Kinser leaned in close and lined up the blue block of metal in the milling machine at C-TEC. With a steady hand, he then lowered a drill bit into the block, sending spirals of metal flying.

Just 10 weeks ago, the 18-year-old graduated from Newark High School without a clear plan of what he was going to do next.

A job in manufacturing had never crossed his mind. He said he had “no interest,” as the very thought brought visions of working all day in a hot, dark, dirty factory.

But after spending the summer interning with Licking County Job & Family Services’ Mobile Manufacturing Crew, Kinser is considering a manufacturing career.

“I’ve been surprised to see how many people love their jobs in manufacturing,” he said.

The Mobile Manufacturing Crew is a 10-week internship program that exposes young people to manufacturing careers. The program is designed, in part, to help fill the growing number of new manufacturing jobs in the county, said Angela Carnahan, workforcedevelopment administrator with Licking County Job & Family Services.

Licking County has one of the state’s lowest unemployment rates: 4.6 percent, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. It also has the second-highest number of manufacturers in central Ohio, with 166, according to the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association.