Welding, machine tool pathway students see possible careers
By Mark Hebert
October 24, 2023 - For UW Solutions, it’s the first step toward creating a new pipeline of potential employees. For 10 Jeffersontown High School students it was a chance to peel back the curtain and see how a manufacturing company really works.
UW Solutions is a manufacturing plant in Jeffersontown and one of the newest business partners for J-town High School’s Academies of Louisville programs. The company invited the students in the welding and machine tool career pathways to take a tour of their operation, hear how it works and talk to the employees.
“It was really interesting,” said Myah, a sophomore who was on the tour and is interested in welding. “It gave me insight into what it would be like to work with machines. It also showed me that working as a team is really important.”
UW Solutions makes HD printable materials, specialized flooring and coatings. Human Resources Director Deena Burks walked the students through nearly a dozen different jobs at the facility, from welding to marketing. She said the company wanted to open students’ eyes to see “there are a number of opportunities here. It’s not just limited to the production line.”
As the students walked through the plant, employees explained the processes for making the large panels rolling off the assembly line as well as the engineering and maintenance involved in keeping the operation running and the business profitable.
Alistair, a junior, noticed that the Computer Aided Design (CAD) and laser that he had studied and used in class was similar to what’s being used in the manufacturing process at UW Solutions.
That’s the idea behind the field trip according to Ashley Conway, J-town’s Academy Coach.
“It’s important for them to see first-hand the connection between what they’re learning and how it applies in a real world setting for a possible career,” Conway said. “It (the tour) also showed students that employers value them and that what they’re learning in the classroom is appreciated in the workforce.”
UW Solutions doesn’t currently have a coop program where students could earn credit and a salary while working at the plant but they’re in discussions with Conway about developing one. Several Academies of Louisville high schools have coop agreements with business partners.
Burks, the HR director, also told students that the company offers $10,000/yr. in tuition assistance for employees to attend college. Myah said she would probably be interested in an offer like that.
“I could to into an entry level job, go to school and then come back,” she said.
Conway thinks the tour was a good lesson for her J-town students and their futures.
“They learned from UW Solutions that it’s not college OR career, it’s both,” she said. “And it’s also about creating robust, well-rounded young adults who are prepared for the real world.”