CCAT Introduces Middle School Students to Manufacturing Careers through Hands-on Summer Program

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See middle school students participate in CCAT's Young Manufacturers Summer Academy, a free, hands-on, manufacturing workshop at Kaynor Technical High School.

East Hartford, CT (PRWEB) July 26, 2013

WHAT:     Photo opportunity to see middle school students participate in the Young Manufacturers Summer Academy (YMSA), a free, eight-day program of hands-on learning to showcase different aspects of the advanced manufacturing industry and introduce fundamental skills and tools needed for career success.
WHEN:     Tuesday, July 30 from 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
WHERE: W. F. Kaynor Technical High School, 43 Tompkins Street, Waterbury, CT
Enter main entrance and go to the main office (to the right). Ask for Manufacturing, the Young Manufacturers Summer Academy (YMSA). You will be escorted to the workshop area.

Nearly 20 students from middle schools in Waterbury, Naugatuck, Beacon Falls, Terryville and Middlebury are participating in the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology’s (CCAT) Young Manufacturers Summer Academy (YMSA) at W. F. Kaynor Technical High School in Waterbury, Conn., which runs for eight days from July 22-August 1.

Students participating in YMSA gain machine shop floor experience, attend workshops about high-tech tools and computer simulations, take field trips to local manufacturing companies, learn about the state’s technical high school system and attend a mock career fair.

CCAT partners with the Connecticut Technical High School System to conduct the program, which is part of CCAT’s efforts to recruit a skilled workforce ready for careers in Connecticut’s advanced manufacturing sector.

Funded through a Connecticut State Department of Education Interdistrict Cooperative grant, the unique YMSA program for 7th to 9th grade students is offered free of charge and run with state technical high schools during two separate sessions this summer. The first session ran during July 8-18 with Eli Whitney Technical High School in Hamden. The second session, which began July 22, is running currently through August 1 at W.F. Kaynor Technical High School and also at A. I. Prince Technical High School in Hartford.

Now in its fifth year, YMSA has introduced more than 300 middle school girls and boys to careers in manufacturing. But the program benefits more than the students. Companies like PeterPaul Electronics in New Britain recognize its value in attracting young people to manufacturing careers.

“We commend CCAT for its awareness that we have to reach out to this age group in order to prepare them to be our next generation workforce. If we reached only one child…our mission was a success,” states Judi Spreda, human resources manager at PeterPaul Electronics.

ABOUT CCAT
The Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology, Inc. (CCAT), a unique economic development organization headquartered in East Hartford, Conn., leads partnerships between industry, academia and government, creating a collaborative framework for tackling today’s economic challenges. CCAT combines expertise in cutting-edge manufacturing and information technology with specialized centers of excellence in education and workforce development and alternative energy solutions to help organizations increase efficiencies, compete and succeed.

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