Manufacturing
Day and Month is a big newsmaker as companies across America participate in
hosting and organizing industry tours for middle and high school students in
their region. In Southeast Florida, Hoerbiger Corporation of America in Pompano
Beach, Fla. took a leading role in spearheading MFG Day industry tours and
activities for students in Palm Beach and Broward counties in Southeast Florida.
Hoerbiger is one of FLATE’s regional industry partners who has for a number
years served as the regional industry partner for MFG Day/Month activities.
Karen
Elordi, MFG Day representative at Hoerbiger says the goal this year was to have
four schools participate in a tour of its
manufacturing facilities to witness their
high-tech manufacturing operations. This year, Hoerbiger hosted four school
tours of up to 30 students each on two separate days, as “a smaller group
ensured more engaged and interested participants.” In 2013 and 2014, Hoerbiger hosted
100 students (50 each from two schools), while 2015 the company invited three
schools with 25 students each. The tours were conducted on October 19 and
October 26, with students from American Heritage and Dillard High Schools touring
Hoerbiger on October 19, and students from Boca Raton Community High School and
Stranahan High Schools touring the facility on October 26.
Elordi
says establishing a close connection with schools is a long-term, committed process
that entails reaching and frequently
communicating with industry partners and
schools who have participated in past MFG Day industry tours and identifying
how they can they benefit from learning about manufacturing as a viable career
pathway. During the tour, Students were divided into three groups and were
given a tour of the facility that ranged from seeing the ‘machines in action,’
and interacting with the sales, service, methods, engineering and CAD
departments. Students watched a video that provided an overview of Hoerbiger
operations and highlighted the roles, responsibilities and insights from engineers,
some of who started working at Hoerbiger after they graduated from high school
and later attended college through the company’s employee tuition reimbursement
program.
A
cornerstone of FLATE’s manufacturing day strategy has been to survey all industry
tour participants. Industry hosts, students,
teachers and chaperones who participated
in the industry tour at Hoerbiger have been surveyed with many students stating
they were surprised to see advanced manufacturing operations and they were glad
to see some of their school lessons being used in the real world. Students also
state they enjoyed talking with employees and were able to ask questions and
learn from their personal stories. In terms of the industry hosts, many
Hoerbiger employees commented that they were surprised that students knew as
much as they did, and had access to the kind of equipment they had in school. “I
wish we had that when I was in school” stated an employee. Other stated “I never
got to have that experience when I was in school,” and “They are so much more
advanced than when I was in school.” Elordi was also thanked for a “wonderful,
incredibly well-organized day” by one of the teachers, and even though each
school brought a different type of student (i.e., pre-engineering, AICE
business, BRACE and Engineering magnet) they all found an interest in some area
that they saw. FLATE is currently
tabulating student, educator and industry survey results. We will an in-depth
report highlighting impact of tours in subsequent editions of the FLATE Focus,
so stay tuned!
Looking
to 2017 and beyond, Hoerbiger is already working with the Broward County
Schools curriculum advisor to include more
schools and local manufacturers. “We
are also throwing around some new ideas which would allow us to include more
than four schools next year” said Elordi. On a similar token Elordi recommends
providing short video that could show different types of manufacturing and
careers to captive students’ interest. “We are glad Hoerbiger continues to take
a proactive role in executing an effective manufacturing day strategy in the
region” said Dr. Marilyn Barger. We hope to continue this partnership and
expand the reach and scope of the tours in the next few years, Barger said.
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