The Association for Manufacturing Excellence has launched a pair of education-based programs geared toward attracting students to manufacturing careers: the Adopt a School Initiative and the Dr. Sherrie Ford Manufacturing as a Career Path Scholarship.
The goal of the AME's Adopt a School Initiative is to connect manufacturing companies with schools in their communities to give students practical learning experience. The program provides STEM students with hands-on manufacturing experience and access to mentors and creates opportunities for teachers and students to attend conferences and workshops at reduced rates. It also includes a free subscription to AME's Target magazine.
The Williamsburg-James City County public school district in southeastern Virginia recently became the first district to participate in the Adopt a School initiative. Students visited a Walmart import distribution center and two high-tech food packaging operations, Ball Corp. and Printpack Inc., to learn about job opportunities in manufacturing and related STEM fields.
The scholarship is sponsored by Kronos and the AME Institute. Its namesake, Sherrie Ford, is a prominent manufacturing business owner and consultant who died in 2011.
