Area 18 To Host Manufacturing Camp

Area 18 To Host Manufacturing Camp

BLUFFTON, IN – Area 18 CTE Cooperative will host its first ever “Manufacturing Begins with Me Camp” from 8 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. May 17 at Bluffton High School.

The hands-on day camp is for middle school students in 7th and 8th grades.

 Six similar camps have been held throughout northeast Indiana in the last three years. Five camps, including Bluffton’s, are planned for 2025. 

The Manufacturing Begins with Me Camp will provide students with a new vision and opportunity for a career choice. Manufacturing in Adams, Blackford, Jay and Wells counties has been crucial to a robust economy. Regionally, manufacturing is the largest employing industry.

Introducing students to the skilled opportunities that exist gives them a clearer understanding of manufacturing. With the shortage of workers, investing in our students’ understanding of careers and dispelling myths is important to their selection process of a career. Other considerations in entering manufacturing fields are the growth potential of students’ skills and the industry’s sustainable living wages.

Camp partners include: Northeast Indiana Works, Ivy Tech, Vincennes University, Purdue University Fort Wayne, Adams Wells County Manufacturing Alliance, Star Engineering & Machining, Bluffton-Harrison Metropolitan School District, Area 18 CTE Cooperative, the Don Wood Foundation and the economic development corporations of Adams and Wells counties.

“We’ve found that students who attend these camps thoroughly enjoy the experience, are extremely engaged in the activities, and some come away considering a manufacturing career,” said Edmond O’Neal, President and CEO of Northeast Indiana Works.