Hononegah Education & Manufacturers Council gathers for inaugural meeting

JEAN SEEGERS PHOTO The Herald
Members of the Education and Manufacturers Council met recently at Hononegah High School. The goal of the program is to provide HCHS students with information, training and educational opportunities in local technical and manufacturing fields.

Hononegah Education & Manufacturers Council gathers for inaugural meeting
By Jean Seegers
REPORTER
The newly formed HCHS Education & Manufacturers Council met at the school, Wednesday, April 16. Fifteen teachers, manufacturers and business representatives gathered for the group’s initial meeting. The council’s goal is to bring local manufacturing companies in the Stateline area together with Hononegah students who are considering career choices and are interested in technical and hands-on-learning.
The group seeks to alter the perceptions about the manufacturing industry and develop and present a viable alternative to a four-year post- secondary program.
Not every graduating student is interested in attending a four-year college program. One of the goals of the council is to develop partnerships with HCHS students and area manufacturing companies to provide technical skills, hands-on learning and jobs.
The council has a strong connection to the school’s Workplace Readiness Program under the direction of Jason Brunke, Career and Technical Education Coordinator. The program has been in place at Hononegah for six years.
“The Workplace Readiness Program has two components: Portfolio building: consisting of building a list of experiences and volunteer job -shadowing, and teaching soft skills: Teachers provide ratings and testing and track responsibility, team work and technical skills.”
“Employers have seen huge gaps in the past. We need to bridge that gap,” Brunke said. He suggested adding classes or internships to the curriculum.
The Education & Manufacturing Council wants to develop and support curriculum that would prepare students for careers in manufacturing while in the high school classroom and bring those skills into the manufacturing community.
One of the goals discussed was to provide manufacturers and businesses access to potential employees through career exploration events such as Meet & Greet, Lunch & learn, job shadowing, job fairs and apprenticeships.
HCHS Technical Education and pre-engineering teacher Liz McLevige suggested using a model similar to the school’s Incubator Program, a successful entrepreneurial class that features creating businesses with the assistance of mentors and coaches from the area.
Dennis Weiland from Regal Cutting and Manufacturing said the company has participated in the Workplace Readiness program for a few years. “It’s been a rewarding program. There have been 30 to 35 Hononegah graduates the last few years, but there still aren’t enough students going into manufacturing after graduating.”
Other goals put forward were to expand contributions to the HCHS Work Place Readiness Certification Scholarship Fund, increase graduation rates and work-readiness rates in local communities.
Member Chuck Gilbert suggested working with HCHS in instituting a Manufacturing Expo in the school’s Fieldhouse.
Those participating in the May 15, meeting:
Jason Holby – Clyde Groom Agency; Jason Brunke – HCHS Keith Wickland – Cornerstone Wealth; Diane James – Members Alliance Credit Union; Andrew Reynolds – Fuelz; Aaron Bankovich – Bankovich Assoc,; Dennis Weiland – Regal Cutting Tools; Charlie Enright – All-World Manufacturing; Anthony Keene – safety engineer(retired) ; Chad Dougherty – HCHS Assoc. Principal; Chuck Gilbertson – Marketing and Sales (retired) Sharon Bowman – HCHS Business instructor and Liz McLevige – HCHS Technical Education teacher.
Gilbert suggested working with HCHS in starting a Manufacturing Expo in the Fieldhouse.
Other.
National Manufacturing Day is Oct. 4, 2019.