The future of manufacturing in Eastern Connecticut just went mobile.
EASTCONN, a regional educational service center and nonprofit that serves the region, unveiled their new mobile manufacturing lab.
The groundbreaking initiative will help to bring the future of the industry directly to students at their schools and to education and job fairs in the area.
Paul Lavoie is the state of Connecticut’s Chief Manufacturing Officer and said young people need to be exposed more to the variety of different manufacturing jobs that exist today.
“In one of our technical high schools you can pick your discipline when you enroll and two kids picked precision machining, they have 25 slots," Lavoie said. "Then they do discovery days where the kids can go around and spend time in each one of those areas and decide. 75 kids wanted the precision manufacturing programs. So, that proves to us that when we show kids the opportunities, when we show kids the types of jobs we have. We open up a whole new world for them.”
Lavoie said research his department had undertaken showed that most young people have a zero perception about manufacturing, believing that items appear at a Amazon Warehouse and then get shipped to their homes.
Eric Protulis is EASTCONN’s executive director. He said the new mobile lab opens up a whole new world to young people for future career and job opportunities.
“The mobile lab is more than just a classroom on wheels. It is a doorway into a universe of possibilities," Protulis said." A universe where students, especially those through grades 5 to 8, will have the chance to discover the incredible opportunities that exist in the world of manufacturing. From hands on experience with cutting edge technology to the exposure of skills that will shape their future careers. The lab is designed to ignite curiosity and excitement.”
The lab has been made possible through partnerships with Electric Boat, who manufacture submarines in southeastern Connecticut and the Eastern Connecticut Workforce Investment Board, who are placing people of all ages into manufacturing jobs in the eastern region through their manufacturing pipeline and youth initiatives.
