Get out the Vote for Manufacturing Education

A bunch of New England high school students recently got an education in what it’s like and what it takes to work in modern manufacturing, though not in the way you might expect. There’s certainly nothing wrong with passively touring a facility to gain exposure (quite the contrary, judging from the results of the most recent Manufacturing Day). However, these particular young men and women were actively engaged in making the most of their visits (yes, that's plural), and they likely spent plenty of time outside of those visits thinking about the people they met, what they learned, and manufacturing in general. Perhaps most significantly, their efforts may well contribute to a broader understanding of the industry among peers who have yet to see manufacturing up close, not to mention teachers and parents.

In fact, ensuring others share in the learning was the primary goal of these students, and now, the broader manufacturing community has a chance to recognize them for their hard work. The video above is just one of many examples. Mirroring similar efforts throughout their own state as well as Massachusetts and Rhode Island, a team of students from Plainfield High School in Central Village, Connecticut, partnered with local mold manufacturer Westminster Tool to conceive, shoot and edit the video. Their goal? To showcase the skills and education necessary for a manufacturing career. Their submission, along with those from 12 other teams of students from schools throughout the region, will be screened and judged at an upcoming film festival that will conclude the “Manufacturing a Path to Success” video competition. In the meantime, we encourage all our readers to vote for their favorite submission among the 13 videos, all of which are hosted online by the Eastern Advanced Manufacturing Alliance (EAMA).

EAMA is a group of more than 40 manufacturers that aims to promote industry careers generally; strengthen the regional workforce; and enable members to advocate as a team for common interests. “Manufacturing a Path to Success” is the second video competition organized by this group, which hopes to build on the success of last year’s “What’s so Cool About Manufacturing” competition. In both cases, student teams met with their EAMA partner companies multiple times: to tour the facility and conduct interviews; to review the proposed script; to film; and finally, to edit and proof the videos. 

Videos in last year’s competition attracted more than 5,000 votes. Let’s see if we can’t help push that number to 10,000 this year! Check them all out at the EAMA’s Website, and cast your vote today. Voting concludes Friday, April 8.