![\"Student](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_0840-1024x768.jpg\")
Student Sean Jefferson, 19, completed soldering a circuit board and is testing it out on March 7, 2026. (Courtesy of Angelina Moradzadeh)<\/p>\nThe Abridged version:<\/p>\n
Project IGNITE offers students in the Sacramento area who did not have access to state-of-the-art career technical education an opportunity to explore the world of manufacturing.<\/p>\n
But with the program\u2019s one-time grant money sunsetting, the future of Project IGNITE remains uncertain. Leaders said they are actively searching for other funding opportunities.<\/p>\n
Industry experts said there is a growing need for young workers with manufacturing skills and hands-on experience.<\/p>\n
A\u00a0Sacramento area\u00a0program that\u00a0lets\u00a0underserved\u00a0students explore the world of manufacturing, with hands-on training in\u00a0subjects\u00a0like robotics, 3D printing and soldering, just\u00a0finished\u00a0a successful first semester.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Program instructors hope\u00a0their inaugural cohort is\u00a0not also\u00a0their last.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to assume it will continue,\u201d said\u00a0George Suarez,\u00a0the program\u2019s lead instructor and trained engineer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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While\u00a0many\u00a0high schools today feature high caliber career courses,\u00a0students at\u00a0less-resourced campuses\u00a0may\u00a0not have access to the\u00a0same\u00a0state-of-the-art\u00a0machinery,\u00a0tools\u00a0and instructors.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Project IGNITE \u2014 Investigating Growth Needs in Inclusive Technical Education \u2014 was a way to\u00a0fill that gap and\u00a0bring\u00a0quality learning to communities otherwise left behind, Suarez said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But with\u00a0the\u00a0initiative\u2019s\u00a0grant funding good for just this\u00a0initial\u00a0year,\u00a0its\u00a0ability to\u00a0reach more\u00a0students\u00a0is\u00a0in question.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Manufacturing \u2018in\u00a0very small\u00a0bites\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite the uncertainty,\u00a0program leaders,\u00a0participants\u00a0and parents\u00a0were\u00a0jubilant\u00a0last week at an end-of-year student showcase marking graduation from Project IGNITE for 26 students.<\/p>\n
During the event, hosted at Aggie Square on the UC Davis Sacramento campus, class\u00a0projects like a phone stand made from sheet metal\u00a0were\u00a0on display, and each student\u00a0received\u00a0certificates, including\u00a0one\u00a0from state Sen. Angelique Ashby\u2019s office.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sixteen of the\u00a0participating\u00a0students attended Suarez\u2019s class at Capital College and Career Academy, a charter school in Sacramento, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The other 10 hailed from\u00a0five\u00a0different high schools and attended\u00a0class\u00a0each Saturday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Student Sean Jefferson, 19, completed soldering a circuit board and is testing it out on March 7, 2026. (Courtesy of Angelina Moradzadeh)<\/p>\n
Within\u00a0five months,\u00a0students gained\u00a0100 hours\u00a0of\u00a0training. Their education was a buffet of\u00a0curriculum\u00a0including\u00a0computer-aided design,\u00a0the basics of robotics, cost\u00a0estimating\u00a0and tours of industry facilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole point of the project was to expose students to everything about manufacturing in\u00a0very small\u00a0bites,\u201d Suarez said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Greater need for manufacturing\u00a0education\u00a0<\/p>\n
Industry\u00a0leaders\u00a0at the event\u00a0emphasized the growing need for\u00a0well-trained young workers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTechnology is changing so rapidly right now,\u201d said\u00a0Roy Ingram, professor of mechatronics\u00a0at Sierra College.\u00a0\u201cWhat you\u2019re doing with this Project IGNITE is you\u2019re accelerating that learning process.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
And\u00a0there\u00a0are\u00a0likely\u00a0more\u00a0technical\u00a0job opportunities\u00a0on the horizon, according to\u00a0Rob Sanger, a program manager at SEMI, a global\u00a0manufacturing trade\u00a0association.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s lots of jobs that are going to go away because of (artificial intelligence),\u201d Sanger said. \u201cEspecially in your traditional four-year degree.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the Amazon warehouses, right,\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0not going to be people\u00a0anymore in\u00a0there.\u00a0There\u2019s\u00a0going to be robots,\u201d Sanger continued. \u201cAnd\u00a0somebody\u2019s\u00a0got to fix the robots.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Funding\u00a0future in question<\/p>\n
Project IGNITE is\u00a0spearheaded by Aura\u00a0Planning, a local community development organization, and Green Tech, a Sacramento nonprofit focused on\u00a0providing underserved youth with clean energy education and training.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Suarez, vice president of engineering and workforce development\u00a0at Aura Planning, said\u00a0they have already received messages from students interested in taking the class next year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Students](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_0589-1024x768.jpg\")
On a visit to Roseville Precision Inc. in Rocklin on Feb. 2, 2026, students from the Capital College and Career Academy watched a CNC machine cut a stainless steel part. (Courtesy of Angelina Moradzadeh)<\/p>\n
Future\u00a0ideas to expand the program include\u00a0opening spots for students who are later in life and mid-career.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
But first, they need resources to make it to another year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Project IGNITE was one of\u00a022\u00a0projects\u00a0in\u00a0the Sacramento\u00a0region\u00a0to receive a\u00a0grant\u00a0via\u00a0the California Jobs First\u00a0Act.\u00a0But that money was a one-time deal, meaning the education\u00a0initiative\u2019s\u00a0leaders are\u00a0scouring for\u00a0other grants or funding opportunities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Opportunity and confidence\u2019<\/p>\n
Students in the program\u00a0had the chance to tour sites like Roseville Precision Inc., where they\u00a0witnessed\u00a0manufacturing designing and building processes firsthand. And they could picture themselves in that space, said\u00a0Angelina Moradzadeh, founder and president of Aura Planning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In an exit survey, 84% of participating students said the tours changed how they saw manufacturing. Almost 3 of 4 students said they now have a greater interest in the career field.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Moradzadeh\u00a0said\u00a0the goal\u00a0of Project IGNITE\u00a0is to build long-term trust between students and employers. That means giving young adults the hard skills companies are looking for, plus\u00a0building a student\u2019s belief in their own abilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes the only thing that is missing is opportunity and confidence,\u201d\u00a0Moradzadeh\u00a0said.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Savannah Kuchar\u00a0is a reporter covering education. She came to Sacramento to be a part of the Abridged team and contribute to a crucial local news source.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Abridged version: Project IGNITE offers students in the Sacramento area who did not have access to state-of-the-art…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":344730,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-344729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344729","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=344729"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344729\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/344730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=344729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=344729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=344729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}