ASHLAND — Fifteen educators from a five-county region had the chance to learn more about manufacturing and the many career opportunities the industry offers during the first-ever Teachers’ Manufacturing Bootcamp.
Last month’s workshop involved teachers/guidance counselors in Ashland, Richland, Huron, Sandusky and Seneca counties.
The Teachers’ Manufacturing Bootcamp is one of several initiatives started by Dan Phillip, president/founder of the Transformation Network and director of the Advancing Industry Task Force of Ashland County, that’s meant to help promote manufacturing as a viable career option.
“We know that the Ashland community has struggled immensely in finding not only skilled people to fill skilled positions, but just to find people who will work in production positions and work their way up,” Phillip said. “Some of the manufacturers in Ashland made the statement that they will no longer buy and bring businesses to Ashland, nor are they going to be able to expand because they don’t have a workforce to pick from.”
To help ensure that’s not the case, Phillip along with several community members and manufacturers have joined forces and come up with different strategies — one being the bootcamp.
The first day was held at Transformation Network in Ashland, where instructors learned about the different technologies found in the Community Tech Center.
The following days, they were able to visit three manufacturing facilities, including Amcor Rigid Plastics in Bellevue, Berry Plastics in Monroeville and Crown Battery in Fremont.
“The companies came up with their own outline and curriculum and basically they exposed the instructors to every aspect of their business and in many instances gave them hands-on experiences,” Phillip said.
By participating in the teachers’ bootcamp, educators were able to earn three graduate credits from Ashland University.
“The workshop as a whole was very beneficial,” said Michael Walker, a high school math teacher at Ashland County Community Academy.
“The most important things I gained from the teacher bootcamp was what the employers needed and the importance of getting this to my students. The most important things employers were looking for from entry level employees were people who would show up to work daily, work hard, be a team player, and be able to pass a drug test. As you can see there were no academic skills needed.”
Walker said he wants to incorporate more problem-solving activities in the classroom.
” I also want to push the importance of showing up to school daily ready to work hard,” he said.
Phillip said many of the educators were able to glean valuable insight, which was evident from the 10-minute PowerPoint presentations that they gave at the conclusion of the bootcamp.
“I learned that manufacturing was not the dark, dank workplace,” said Regina Theisen, who teaches English at Ontario High School, as well as writing and psychology at North Central State College.
“There is great opportunity for upward movement, learning on the job, college paid for when relevant to the job, benefits, and an opportunity to learn skills that one can also use in society to help others. Manufacturing is and always has been the backbone of the economy, whether that is learning the skills and machines to work in the oil fields, or creating/repairing the technology that is used in a hospital surgical center.”
Phillip hopes to expand the workshop in the future by involving more manufacturers and instructors.
