Programs aim to show opportunity in manufacturing

Manufacturers in Springfield know what they want out of the public schools.

"We want to let kids know there are career opportunities in manufacturing. A lot of kids coming out of school today don't know there are jobs real careers in this area," said Henry Mateja, director of manufacturing at Tuthill Pneumatics Group and a member of the Springfield Area Manufacturers Association.

Rather than wishing and hoping that message would somehow get passed on to students, the association got busy. Rita Needham, community affairs director for SAMA and also an employee of Positronic Industries, is spearheading an effort to educate students in Springfield Public Schools about careers in manufacturing. The program began in the fall of 1999, and the association plans to extend it to other area schools, Needham said.

"Our goal is to reach students, parents and educators to let them hear our message. We want to get them into our program so that they will know that the manufacturing industry is not the stereotypical work environment they think of dark, dirty work but that a career in manufacturing can actually be very fulfilling, satisfying work," Needham said.

So far, SAMA has developed several programs with Springfield Public Schools:

A technical writing class at Glendale has been designing brochures for nine manufacturers who are members of the association. Students have visited the manufacturers and SAMA donated $500 to purchase computer software and cover the costs of transportation to the manufacturers for visits.

Students at Hillcrest High School are producing a 12-minute video to promote careers in manufacturing. SAMA contributed $4,000 for the purchase of video cameras and microphones for the video.

Association members have provided tours of manufacturing centers and guest speakers to classrooms. A contingent of SAMA members also worked with a group of Parkview freshmen considered to be at academic risk, educating those students about setting goals, job-seeking skills and career opportunities.

"The school system has its work cut out for it. There are a lot of kids who have checked out and don't think the school system has anything to offer them. That's one of the ways we can help out, in showing them that there is somewhere other than college to go," said Greg McVay, president of Superior Quality Steel and a SAMA member.

Needham is a former teacher. She said she has seen what can happen when a child is uncertain of where education will take him.

"Our challenge is to trigger that thinking, to get them to think longer term. What will I be doing five years down the road? What is there out there and how do I get there?" Needham said.

The SAMA programs are designed to introduce not only students, but educators, to careers in manufacturing, and in particular, in how manufacturing has changed in recent years.

At Ozarks Technical Community College, there is also a movement to assist high schoolers to prepare for the work world.

"Nationally there is a movement to help high school students become better technically prepared for work beyond high school," said Norman Myers, OTC president.

He added that studies have indicated that in the next 10 years, 80 percent or more of jobs will require an education beyond high school, but not a full-fledged bachelor's degree. For that reason, colleges such as OTC are working to reform high school curricula to include more technical preparation.

"For so long, in high school you were either college-bound or on a general track," Myers said.

The college now has a full-time coordinator of technical preparation who goes to area schools (those 14 schools within the OTC district) and helps design their curricula to assist students who are going on to more technical education.

Another way OTC is assisting public school students with technical education is through the area vocational school it runs for 5,600 juniors and seniors in high school.

"One of the problems with job-skill training is that it's not as glamorous as going off to an Ivy League, four-year college. We've got a challenge to overcome the idea that going to OTC is something of a lesser pursuit," Myers said.

He added that, like the manufacturers, he believes students are not getting a comprehensive picture of what is available beyond high school.

"In the American society today, we've done an excellent job of selling a college education, but when you look at the society as a whole, there are not that many bachelor's degrees," Myers said.

In order to better inform students of what's available, OTC, like SAMA, is getting teachers and counselors involved, bringing them to the college.

"A lot of this is an awareness problem. We can do a pretty good job of getting the teachers aware, and we can do a better job of making students aware, but we also have to get parents in here, because if we don't do that, it won't happen," Myers said.