High School ECAMP™ Program Meeting State’s Manufacturing Needs

High School ECAMP™ Program Meeting State’s Manufacturing Needs
As Connecticut searches for new manufacturing solutions, Goodwin’s Early College Advanced Manufacturing Pathway is educating the manufacturers of tomorrow.

As part of its dedication to strengthening Connecticut’s economic future, Goodwin College is expanding its manufacturing education efforts throughout the state with its unique Early College Advanced Manufacturing Pathway (ECAMP™) program.

Goodwin developed ECAMP™ to allow partnered high school and middle school districts from around the state to access programs, equipment, and educational opportunities that would not otherwise be available to Connecticut’s interested students. The College has already implemented the program at its Connecticut River Academy magnet high school, will implement a Hartford Public Schools pilot program in March 2019, and open additional programs in other districts in the fall.

“The opportunity to introduce manufacturing to high school students through nationally recognized manufacturing training programs, while taking college courses for credit, will be an exciting opportunity for participating school districts and industry partners looking for skilled employees,” Craig Drezek, Assistant Superintendent of Goodwin College Magnet Schools and Educational Partnerships, said.

The advanced manufacturing program was developed to partner with local school districts, offering students both on- and off-site manufacturing training opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise be able to access. These middle and high school-aged students can take part in a flexible, comprehensive program to learn manufacturing skills, all while earning college credits towards a degree or certification for good entry-level positions and pre-apprenticeships in the state’s growing manufacturing sector.

Because of the flexible, fast-changing needs of the manufacturing sector and the state’s individual school districts, each ECAMP™ program is tailored to meet the needs and desires of the partnering districts, Drezek said.

ECAMP™ is based out of Goodwin’s 60,000-square-foot Business and Advanced Manufacturing Center in East Hartford, giving students and school districts access to manufacturing equipment and professionals they would never be able to access on their own. Goodwin is opening its new, dedicated 15,000-square-foot high school annex to support the ECAMP™ initiative and state manufacturing education this fall. The College’s manufacturing programs and equipment are portable throughout the state, thanks to its one-of-a-kind Mobile Manufacturing Lab.

“Today, Connecticut is on the threshold of a once-in-a-generation opportunity for manufacturing careers,” Cliff Thermer, Goodwin’s Assistant Vice President for Strategy and Business Development, said. “To help fill the demand for these high-skilled jobs and encourage the next generation of makers, we’re excited to offer students comprehensive, flexible learning opportunities through ECAMP™.”

The launch of ECAMP™ comes just as the Connecticut state college and university system announced its plans to seek partnerships with private and technical schools to expand manufacturing training to meet the state’s growing workforce gap. The plan recognizes the need to look beyond the state institutions to solve the workforce training needs and Goodwin is collaborating with the State in support of those efforts.