Submitted article
The education and manufacturing communities in Crawford County are coming together to raise awareness for, and get students interested in, careers in manufacturing. The program is called WAGE, Workforce Awareness for Graduates and Educators. Bucyrus High School will pilot this new program through a teacher in-service Oct. 23.
The initial step of the WAGE program is to expose secondary level school educators and administrators to the career opportunities and needs of local manufacturing. Bucyrus teachers will be divided into groups of fifteen and rotate between four to 5 manufacturing operations in Crawford County.
“The first goal of this program is to provide direct communication to the educators to increase exposure and break down any barriers of misunderstanding between manufacturing and education,” Crawford: 20/20 Vision Business Success and Job Availability chairman Doug Leuthold said. “For too long all we hear is that manufacturing is Dark, Dirty, and Dead. That couldn’t be any more inaccurate and we hope to change the perception for the future generations so we’ll have the workforce that our community needs. Ultimately, we want to encourage more high school students in Crawford County to pursue a career in manufacturing.”
During the educator tours, each manufacturer will communicate specific themes to the groups. These themes could include soft skills, math, and critical thinking as several examples. The next step is to arrange student tours following the successful completion of the educator tours.
“We are excited to be piloting this program for our students,” Bucyrus Superintendent Kevin Kimmel said. “There are many manufacturing jobs available in our county, and we need to expose our teachers, staff and students to the opportunities available in the manufacturing industry. By piloting this program, the Bucyrus City Schools continue to lead the way in providing a customized and personalized educational experience to our students.”
For more information about the WAGE program and Bucyrus’ participation, please contact Doug Leuthold at 419-562-1337 or Kevin Kimmel at 419-562-4045 or email kkimmel@bucyrusschools.org.