INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING & ENGINEERING

The Industrial Manufacturing and Engineering pathway was one of the earliest of FutureForce’s pathways to begin development.  Established in November 2004, the members of this pathway committee have made major strides in developing strategies to help students navigate into a manufacturing career. 

The first activity this committee tackled was test the validity of the knowledge and skill statements identified by the national career cluster model.  To do so, five pilot schools were engaged in the process.  Those schools were also tasked with the job of testing the following assessment tools: Career Safe, Skills USA PDP, & CALS.  Summer camp opportunities in a variety of areas were created for students and teachers at all levels to provide some awareness of the types of careers available in the industrial manufacturing field. 

The community colleges have played key roles in the development of this pathway. 
Central Community College provided an Industrial Manufacturing Career Pathway outreach  program for middle/high school students, allowing twenty students to experience designing with AutoCAD and machining a medallion using MasterCam. They also competed in teams in a “ski” exercise and explored manufacturing careers on the Dream-It, Do-It web site.

Northeast and Central Community Colleges provided training on the use of new electric and pneumatic manufacturing equipment for twenty high school teachers from 10 different schools. The purpose of this training was to help teachers more effectively implement the Industrial Manufacturing Career Pathways curriculum in their classrooms.

On August 22, Gov. Dave Heineman and the Dream It. Do It. campaign launched the Nebraska Career Dream Team, which highlights the opportunities for young people in Nebraska who pursue a career in advanced manufacturing.  The ‘Dream It. Do It.’ campaign stresses the importance of educating a skilled workforce to help retain the state’s workforce in the manufacturing sector and help strengthen Nebraska’s economy and future competitiveness.

For more information on Dream It Do It, please visit the Dream It Do It website.