By Mallory Waligora, For The Oakland Press
More than 1,200 high school students across Oakland County stepped out of the classroom to get a firsthand look at careers in manufacturing and skilled trades.
On Friday, Oct. 2, students from 24 high schools visited 32 local manufacturing companies as part of Oakland County Manufacturing Day. Celebrating its 12th year, the annual program brings students from across the county to local manufacturing sites to learn about potential career paths and experience the industry firsthand.
Among the participating schools was Oakland Schools Technical Campus Northeast, or O-Tech, in Pontiac. The campus serves students from multiple districts, including Oxford and Rochester, who attend specialized classes for 2.5 hours a day at the campus outside of their home high schools.
On Friday, O-Tech students visited Hi-Tech Mold and Engineering in Rochester Hills, a manufacturer that designs and builds tooling for the plastics industry, primarily serving the automotive and aerospace sectors.
Scenes from Oakland County Manufacturing Day at Hi-Tech Mold and Engineering in Rochester Hills. (Mallory Waligora, For The Oakland Press)
During the three-hour visit, students participated in hands-on activities with equipment, toured the facility with executives and watched demonstrations from employees working on the production floor.
One of those students was Landen Walker, a senior at Rochester Adams High School, who is part of O-Tech’s engineering, robotics and mechatronics program. After graduation, Walker hopes to work on the electrical side of engineering.
For Walker, seeing the production floor and its machinery was a highlight.
“I found the larger machines to be cool to look at, just because they’re absolutely massive,” Walker said. “It’s cool to see all of the machines and what they’re using them for here.”
Another student, David Rodriguez, a junior at Stoney Creek High School who attends O-Tech, said the visit was an opportunity to think about what comes after high school. Rodriguez is concurrently working toward an associate degree in mechatronics at Oakland Community College and is on track to earn the degree one year after he graduates high school.
“I’m interested in getting a job. After high school, although I want to go to college, I need to pay for my college somehow,” Rodriguez said. “I’m hoping to see what companies could get me an internship or maybe a job after high school, and that’s why I’m here.”
Scenes from Oakland County Manufacturing Day at Hi-Tech Mold and Engineering in Rochester Hills. (Mallory Waligora, For The Oakland Press)
Rodriguez said seeing the equipment in real person was a different experience than seeing it in photos or in a textbook.
“My dad works in the engineering field, and he always shows me photos. It’s really incredible to see them in person,” he said.
Hi-Tech President Paul Glowicki knows firsthand how an early introduction to manufacturing can shape a career. He attended a similar event when he was in high school and started at Hi-Tech 33 years ago, eventually working his way up from an entry-level job to president.
Glowicki described the visit as a “big day” for employees who prepare hands-on activities and demonstrations to show students.
“It’s a fun thing to have them over here and promote what we do,” he said. “The part I love is you can actually touch and feel these things.”
Glowicki emphasized the importance of introducing students to careers they might otherwise never encounter.
“Unless you have a parent or someone that exposes you, how else do the kids see it? It’s one thing to have a class or something in school, but to come here and see us and to have an exposure to real-life examples, I think is critical,” he said. “I told them, be curious. There are so many opportunities in different areas.”
Hi-Tech has participated in Oakland County Manufacturing Day since the program’s inception, making it one of the companies that has returned year after year. In total, the program has brought more than 12,000 kids to 188 different tour sites.
Joe St. Henry, digital marketing and communications coordinator for Oakland County Workforce Development, said the goal of the program is to give students an experience that cannot be replicated entirely in a classroom.
“We have to introduce kids to these skill sets and to these opportunities because they just don’t know about them until you come into a facility like this. You can sit in a classroom all day long, but to touch and feel and to meet folks helps it come to life,” St. Henry said.
The visits are also intended to help address the workforce needs of Oakland County businesses.
“It’s all about creating the workforce development pipeline that our businesses across Oakland County need to run,” said Jennifer Llewellyn, manager of workforce development for Oakland County.
Llewellyn said she hopes the program introduces students to career paths they may not have previously considered.
“I hope they get inspired. I hope they can see there are viable careers in manufacturing across the board,” she said. “I want them to see all of the options that they have available.”