Medford schools seeks industry partners

The Medford Area Public School District is turning to area industry and employers for guidance and help in preparing students with the skills needed to enter the workforce.

On February 17, school officials met with about two dozen area industry leaders to collect input on the type of workforce ready skills needed by students and what sort of investment in technology and equipment upgrades is needed.

According to district curriculum director Laura Lundy, the hope is to partner with area business and industry and secure a Fast Forward Technical Education Grant.

“We are looking for partners to help us educate our high school students. The Medford Area Senior High (MASH) has offered automotive, construction and metals, and manufacturing classes for decades. Unfortunately, after a recent assessment of our current equipment, we have found that we have not been able to keep up with the needs of our community’s employers. We would like to change that, and we need your help,” Lundy stated in an invitation to business and industry leaders.

The school district is seeking a $50,000 grant to help purchase automated and computerized equipment in its technical education classes that meets the needs of the community. As part of this grant, they are required to find a 200% match, totaling $100,000. Lundy explained the match can be either monetary or in the form of equipment.

The school district is also partnering with Northcentral Technical College to offer dual-credit programs which allow students to graduate high school with a head start toward their technical certifications.

Representatives from local employers such as Phillips- Medisize and Weather Shield spoke of the literally hundreds of job openings they have in their companies in a variety of production, skilled trade and other positions. They spoke of the types of skills students entering the workforce need to have. Some such as representatives from Phillips-Medisize spoke of the increasing amount of automation that is being implemented and noting that there is demand for workers to maintain that equipment.

Following the discussion, they toured the school district’s technology education areas with some of the industry representatives noting the equipment in the school’s shops was the same as when they attended school there.

District administrator Pat Sullivan spoke about the upcoming referendum which, if approved, will greatly expand the technical education spaces at the high school. This will give the district the space to add the equipment needed to train students for jobs in high-demand areas.