Manufacturing Scholarship Competition – Dayton, OH

Posted by admin on April 24, 2012

Scholarships – most often awarded for high ACT and SAT scores – have taken on new meaning. A scholarship program for students to embrace the world of manufacturing is making the headlines.

Perhaps unknown to some, there is a shortage of skilled manufacturers. To combat this issue, Dayton Progress Corporation in Ohio – a worldwide leader in precision metal fabrication – has announced a “manufacturing challenge.” This challenge is to bring awareness to careers in manufacturing and will target Dayton area high school students.

THE CHALLENGE

The Dayton Progress Manufacturing Challenge consists of a prize valued at over $40,000 and will be awarded to the high school with the most creative and effective promotional program of career opportunities in manufacturing. The winning school will receive state-of-the-art manufacturing computer technology (hardware and software) in addition to student scholarships.

While careers in manufacturing are some of the most unique (and high-paying), they don’t receive the credit they deserve given that manufacturing jobs typically do not require a college degree. Therefore, there is minimal – if any – focus on the manufacturing industry in secondary schools. Dayton Progress Corporation has created this challenge to reward schools and their students who honor the industry through awareness.

Not all students see the college experience as part of their future. For those who do, a career in manufacturing can still be their chosen path. This challenge will give four select students the opportunity to explore the industry while still in high school through a paid after-school internship. The goal of the internship is two fold: to provide high quality training in manufacturing and also to provide leeway into a full-time position (in lieu of college or post college).

“Dayton Progress is pleased to be taking a leadership role in the effort to alleviate the severe shortage of skilled workers through awareness of manufacturing careers,” President & CEO Alan Shaffer said in a Modern Materials Handling article.  “As one of the largest area manufacturers, we want to make high school students aware of the high-paying career opportunities in this region. It is also important to reward those schools and their students who do the best job of career awareness development,” Shaffer said.