Gene Haas Foundation Presents $105,000 in Grants and Scholarships

Today’s technically-professional workforce is aging out and the next generation of new talent is not sufficient to fill the demand. Nationwide, there are an estimated 5.8 million job openings, with approximately 60,000 of these openings located in Arkansas. The majority of these are in high skilled technical fields, and this gap in the state’s employment can be directly attributed to a lack of knowledge, interest and preparation.

In association with the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (Little Rock, AR) and Arkansas Community Colleges, the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce and the Associated Industries of Arkansas (ASCC/AIA; Little Rock, AR) recently launched their 2016 Young Manufacturers Academies that takes place on two-year college campuses across the state. Since 2014 the Academies have been presented in partnership with the Gene Haas Foundation (Oxnard, CA). This year’s hosting schools have been awarded with a total of $105,000 to both host the Academies and offer scholarship funds to prospective college students.

“The Young Manufacturers Academies are a valuable and important part of sharing with young people the opportunities that exist and the skills sets needed in today’s manufacturing world.  We believe in this program and its impact,” said Michael Garner, the vice president of sales for the Haas Factory Outlet. “The Gene Haas Foundation has been one of the industry’s strongest advocates and has given in excess of $175,000 to workforce initiatives, including a recent $50,000 grant to support the ‘Be Pro Be Proud’ initiative earlier this year. We are extremely grateful for the support of the ASCC in this important work.”

The “Be Pro Be Proud” Workshop is making stops at many of these Academies as it travels across the state during its tour. The “Be Pro Be Proud” campaign was launched on March 8, 2016, and is aimed at closing the skills gap and providing students and their influencers with the resources and training they need to succeed in a technical profession. For more information, please click here or call Andrew Parker at 501-372-2222.

More than 300 seventh grade through ninth grade students began participating in the Young Manufacturers Academy program, which has a primary goal of growing and developing the manufacturing workforce pipeline in these middle grades, a critical juncture in need of particular attention. This year’s Academy sites include:

1. Arkansas State University, Mountain Home
2. Arkansas State University, Newport
3. Black River Technical College, Pocahontas
4. College of The Ouachitas, Malvern
5. East Arkansas Community College, Forrest City
6. National Park College, Hot Springs
7. North Arkansas (Northark) College, Harrison
8. Northwest Technical Institute, Springdale
9. South Arkansas (Southark) Community College, El Dorado
10. Southern Arkansas University (Sau) Technical College, Camden

“If we are to maintain a competitive edge in the global economy, the pipeline of students prepared to enter manufacturing careers must be increased,” explained Randy Zook, the president of the ASCC. “Unfortunately, society continues to shed a negative light on manufacturing. Many people still think of manufacturing jobs as dirty, dangerous assembly lines, requiring low skill and offering poor pay. The reality is that manufacturing today takes place in high-tech facilities where there are many opportunities for young people with the right skills to be innovative, creative, and entrepreneurial in a range of high-wage, interesting careers.”

Launched by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM; Washington, DC) and The Manufacturing Institute (Washington, DC)., the Young Manufacturers Academy program uses innovative approaches to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) learning through authentic experiences that generate student engagement. It is the combination of these principles, as well as effective instruction and guidance, that garnered the support of Garner and the Gene Haas Foundation.

“Today’s manufacturing world requires technology literacy, reasoning, and problem-solving proficiencies, and students must recognize the value of academic achievement in STEM and aspire to that achievement as a component of future career success,” noted Mike Preston, the executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. “To accomplish this, students must have opportunities to participate in hands-on experiences with manufacturing-related activities that are contemporary, driven by the field, and STEM-rich.”

Founded in 1983, Haas Automation Inc. (Oxnard, CA) is one the largest machine tool builders in the western world. Its foundation, started by company founder and president Gene Haas, is committed to promoting the importance of U.S. manufacturing and is aggressive in offering scholarships for manufacturing education, particularly CNC machinist training. To date, more than 1,500 nonprofit organizations and schools have received funds totaling over $40 million from the Gene Haas Foundation.

“Arkansas’s Young Manufacturers Academies offer students in many areas of the state the opportunity to explore the broad range of high-wage, interesting careers that today’s advanced manufacturing offers and Arkansas’s two-year colleges are all on board to use their resources and facilities to help our young students get a better idea of the 21st century manufacturing world,” added Bill Stovall, the executive director of Arkansas Community Colleges.

www.ghaasfoundation.org, www.haascnc.com, www.beprobeproud.org