GMHS Manufacturing Academy provides students with hands-on manufacturing experience

General McLane High School students will soon gain an inside perspective of manufacturing through shadowing opportunities provided by local manufacturing companies through the GMHS Manufacturing Academy. The GMHS Manufacturing Academy’s goal is preparing the next-generation workforce for a career in the manufacturing industry through seminars and on-site training. “This Academy will meet the needs of both students and our community region,” said General McLane High School Guidance Counselor and Academy Chair Gary Astorino. “There are students who have the interest and ability to obtain a career in the manufacturing industry and, through the utilization and consultation of manufacturing companies, we are going to provide these students with a career-ready education so they can tackle today’s workforce challenges.”

Students started shadowing experiences this month with Plastikos, Inc., a world-class custom injection molding company that specializes in small precision parts, with business in the medical industry. The shadowing experiences will give students time in tooling, manufacturing and quality departments within the company. Some of the positions they will be shadowing include: tool maker, change over technician, tooling engineer, material handler, process technician, process engineer, quality inspector, lead inspector and quality engineer. “We know that local manufacturers are facing many openings as baby boomers retire,” said General McLane superintendent Richard Scaletta. “At General McLane, we are eager to work in close partnership with local companies to provide a stream of candidates to replace these retirees. With the right system in place, we can serve as a ‘farm team’ for our manufacturing partners.”