Courtesy of Poudre School District
Poudre School District’s new Advanced Manufacturing Lab, specializing in workforce training in manufacturing, opened at Poudre High School around a month ago after a ribbon-cutting ceremony Sept. 10. The new lab is clad in specialty engineering equipment, including welding bays, precision drills and a robotic arm, among other things. The tools are meant for career and technical education for students throughout the PSD.
The renovation to Poudre High School was made possible with funds from a $2 million grant from Larimer County. Most of the lab’s equipment was donated by Woodward, a partner of PSD’s Career and Technical Education programs.
“This lab has a lot more machines of either higher quality or just (variety) in general,” Timnath High School senior Sarina Mellado said. “There are a lot of different machines that we don’t have at Timnath. It’s very, very cool.”
“This new Advanced Manufacturing Lab is a game-changer. It blurs the lines between industry, the workforce and our classrooms, which is why our students get a chance to benefit. It gives our students hands-on experience in a state-of-the-art environment, preparing them with skills and certifications that they need to succeed in high-demand industries.” –Brian Kingsley, Poudre School District superintendent
The lab aims to provide critical workforce training to PSD students, which can be applied locally for Fort Collins’ manufacturing needs.
“Our community needs a healthy manufacturing base,” said Josh Weissman, Poudre High School shop teacher. “We need to fill the talent pipeline; our local business leaders can’t find enough talent. They are looking to hire the youth of our community. And if we can give them the skills to get them started in a great career, that is nothing but a triple win. It’s good for students, it’s good for our community and it’s good for local business.”
The lab is located in Poudre High School, but students from all across PSD can enroll in one of PSD’s Career and Technical Education classes in the lab. The consolidation of the various CTE programs at PSD schools is one of the reasons for the lab’s construction.
“It’s just too much to offer at the individual high school; at each high school, we’ll have five or six students interested in the really upper-level classes,” Weissman said. “If we could take five or six students from all the high schools and put them in one central location, then we have a class of 15, 25 or 30 students taking college-bearing CTE classes, so that’s the justification of the rationale for the Career Tech Center to offer supplemental higher-level classes that are student-centered but driven by local business and industry needs.”
The workforce training that the lab prides itself on provides students with opportunities to earn college-level engineering credits that can be transferred to Colorado State University or various community colleges in Northern Colorado.
“Many of our students are really interested in engineering, and all the best engineers we know have a strong background using real tools, real equipment and real machinery,” Weissman said. “Colorado State University has one of the best engineering programs around, and to have that available in our backyard where I can talk about concepts here in the classroom, or on my computer, and then I can show them real engineers doing real engineering at CSU, … and it’s almost a direct pipeline. We are so proud to work with CSU, and it’s a gift that makes my life easier.”
The rationale for the construction of the manufacturing lab lies in the demand for jobs in Colorado industries. Drawing student interest in these industries is a secondary goal for the district CTE program.
“According to the Colorado Department of Labor, manufacturing is the second-most key industry. Health care is No. 1, manufacturing is second and construction is No. 3,” Weissman said. “We need students to be interested in these fields and to be trained in these fields. In order for our community to thrive, we need a healthy manufacturing base. To do that, we must train students, and our students are hungry for this knowledge.”
The lab is not just for workforce readiness in manufacturing; PSD Superintendent Brian Kingsley noted how the lab prepares students for careers, regardless of what they choose to pursue after high school.
“This new Advanced Manufacturing Lab is a game-changer,” Kingsley said. “It blurs the lines between industry, the workforce and our classrooms, which is why our students get a chance to benefit. It gives our students hands-on experience in a state-of-the-art environment, preparing them with skills and certifications that they need to succeed in high-demand industries.”
Reach Robert Sides at science@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.