This story was written for WRAL TechWire Innovator partner Wilson Community College.
WILSON – Parents quickly understand, but the average eighth grader, not so much. When principal Krystal Lane Cox explains to a parent that their child could graduate in five years with both a high school diploma and an associates degree at no additional cost to them, parents perk up. The average middle school student doesn’t know the expense of college or student loans.
When instructor Bishop Tucker explains to the high school sophomores in his industrial safety class that their associates degree in Applied Engineering Technology could lead to a good paying job with the potential of making $60,000 in as little as three years, he isn’t sure they understand this is an above average income in Wilson County, but they seem to be listening.
The Wilson Academy of Applied Technology, in partnership with Wilson Community College and Beddingfield High School, emphasizes a skill set that will go directly to work in any of the area manufacturing facilities.
The Wilson Academy of Applied Technology, in partnership with Wilson Community College and Beddingfield High School, is beginning its second year with an enrollment of 91 students. The first graduating class will be in 2021.
Like most community colleges, WCC offers an early college program for high school students who want to graduate with an associate degree along with their high school diploma. WAAT offers that and more, with an emphasis on a skill set that will go directly to work in any of the area manufacturing facilities. Most area manufacturers, from Bridgestone to Merck & Co., support WAAT.
After explaining the cost saving and the career potential of an associates degree in Applied Engineering Technology, the next challenge for Cox is to explain to parents of middle schoolers what exactly a technician does.
She uses the example of a stoplight or an elevator, which require programmable logic control to work without direct manual control. The applied engineering technician knows how to set up these controllers, troubleshoot them, and maintain them.
Obviously, these are skills in great demand by manufacturers who rely on automation. Most manufacturers in Wilson County support WAAT and the home-grown workforce it will provide, said Margie Norfleet, WCC Dean of Industrial Technologies.
When Beddingfield High School principal Krystal Lane Cox explains to a parent that their child could graduate in five years with both a high school diploma and an associates degree at no additional cost to them, parents perk up.
Myth Busting
Both Norfleet and Cox said a big challenge is convincing parents that a career in manufacturing would be a bright future for their child.
The perception of manufacturing as being in decline persists, along with the myth of it being dirty or unsafe. Cox has photos in her recruiting slideshow of local manufacturing plants showing spotless machines that need tending. With an emphasis on safety and efficiency, manufacturing isn’t what it used to be 30 years ago.
Tucker spent 42 years working at Bridgestone and brings his real-life experience to the classroom. Most of his career was spent training employees, and now he trains potential employees. He shares his enthusiasm with students, who in a recent industrial safety class lesson learned about fall prevention in the workplace. Students began to get excited themselves, if the number of hands being raised is any indication.
A student’s fifth year with WAAT could lead to a work-based learning experience with a local manufacturer that may lead to a job offer.
Students split their time between the WAAT end of Beddingfield High School, where they take most of their regular classes, and the WCC Lee Technology Center where they will participate in hands-on learning in labs. The curriculum also includes field trips to manufacturing plants.
After graduation, students can choose to work, continue their education, or do both together to take advantage of tuition-reimbursement offered by many companies.
“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” Bishop tells his students. “Don’t waste it.”
This story was written for WRAL TechWire Innovator partner Wilson Community College.
