(WACO, Texas) – Ten area high school students are spending their summer earning technical certifications at a manufacturing boot camp hosted by The WorkSITE (Skills, Innovation, Training and Education) in Waco.
The WorkSITE is a partnership between Texas State Technical College, the city of Waco and McLennan County.
The WorkSITE, Workforce Solutions for the Heart of Texas and Education Service Center Region 12, are collaborating on the boot camp. The participating students represent the Axtell, Lorena, McGregor, Rosebud-Lott and Wortham independent school districts.
“They have been really engaged and have been taking notes,” said Jerry Wilkey, a WorkSITE instructor. “I like their curiosity.”
Students have been able to earn electrical systems and electric motor controls systems certifications from the Smart Automation Certification Alliance. While earning the certifications, students have learned about hydraulics, robotics, pneumatics and programmable logic controllers.
“They will broaden my options with future careers since I’m not sure what I want to do yet,” said Layla Meraz, a junior at Lorena High School.
Meraz said her knowledge of gear ratios while working with robots has helped her during the boot camp. She said she enjoyed learning about motor controls.
“It’s a lot more fun than normal school,” she said. “I’m a visual learner, so it helps me to do it as you learn.”
Everett Goodwin, a junior at McGregor High School, said the boot camp is a good steppingstone to the industries they have been learning about. He said he has enjoyed learning about memory circuits and wiring.
Goodwin said he is looking forward to taking an introductory class for small engines and working in his school’s agricultural mechanics shop when the new school year begins.
For more information on The WorkSITE, go to worksite.org.
For more information on TSTC, go to tstc.edu.