SCHAUMBURG – Thanks to the generous donations of Technology & Manufacturing Association members to TMA’s Education Foundation, numerous Chicago area high schools have been able to revive their vocational education departments.
Due to tight budgets and lack of career opportunity awareness, it has been a challenge for both instructors and administrators to expand their schools’ opportunities into preparing students for lucrative and fulfilling careers in manufacturing.
Things are changing, though. The next generation is thinking differently about their futures and becoming more interested in hands-on opportunities, studies show.
In 2019, the TMA Education Foundation granted Crete-Monee High School in Chicago’s south suburbs $20,860.00 to purchase a surface grinder. The next year, TMA’s Education Foundation gave the school’s program another $45,000 for two Bridgeports.
The industry support spawned a renewed interest in offering mechanical courses for those students wanting to pursue hands-on careers right out of high school, versus going into debt on the college trek.
In 2020, Crete-Monee High School had only three manual mills, two welding booths, and a surface grinder to offer their students.
Four years later, they now have 5 manual mills, 3 lathes, 6 welding booths, and the surface grinder.
“With these machines, they are able to serve 60-70 students a year with a two-student-to-one-machine ratio, allowing the classes to maintain strong program numbers,” said Leigh McConnell, TMA’s Director of Training and Education.
The low student-to-machine ratio allows the students to spend more time on the machines, allowing them to complete more projects, McConnell said.
“That means more advanced training in higher-level classes, ultimately better preparing them for the workforce,” she said.
The school’s program began in August 2018 In a small art classroom. Thanks to the dedication of the instructor Bill Kuban, the support from their District Superintendent, Dr. Kara Coglianese, and funds granted from the TMA Foundation, they were able to grow into a brand-new state-of-the-art facility in December 2023.
Looking ahead, the staff says they have room to add another manual mill, three manual lathes, an Iron Worker, and a TIG and Oxy-Acetylene to the welding program.
In addition, they can build out another 2,000 sq, ft to add CNC machines when the time comes.
For more information about TMA’s Education Foundation and their efforts to expand interest in manufacturing skills among the next generation, see https://www.tmaillinois.org/education-foundation.html
