Community industry and business leaders convened at McMinnville High School (MHS) to tour the newly opened Career Technical Center (CTC) and to encourage connection and collaboration between the high school and local industries through conversation about apprenticeships, internships, job opportunities and career growth opportunities.
The event, sponsored by the McMinnville Economic Development Partnership (MEDP) kicked off with MHS Principal Tony Vicknair, who provided a brief overview of the high school’s Career Pathway programs and their focus on building student job skills and training as well as college preparation.
Industry leaders toured the fabrication, construction and natural resources learning labs in the new CTC building and heard pathway students from each discipline discuss their coursework and training.
The group then attended a demonstration by MHS Engineering & Aerospace Sciences Academy students who presented their year-end class projects.
After the tour and engineering demonstration, the business group discussed strategies to leverage the high school programs to best align with emerging workforce needs of regional industries, including the advanced manufacturing sector. Discussions included covered entry-level skill requirements and the traits and training that businesses look for in job applicants.
Visitors were also treated to refreshments prepared and served by the MHS Culinary Arts catering team, one of the Career Pathway programs created to provide industry-standard training in the hospitality field.
Businesses scheduled to attend include 18 Oaks, AP Tech, Cellar Ridge Construction, the City of McMinnville, eCNC, Elk Creek Forest Products, Ferrum Technology, McMinnville Water & Light, MECOP Engineering Internship Program, Meggitt, NW UAV, Online NW, Organic Valley, Pacific Pattern Technologies, Recology, Simpson Electrical, Solid Form Fabrication, Ultimate RB, WVMC and Lippert Components / Zieman.