WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — High school students are hard at work on the campus of the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport. They are participating in the Thingamajig Fabricators Pre-College Program.
"This is where we bring students from across the nation to learn about welding, manufacturing, and engineering design programs," said Brad Webb, the dean of the Penn College School of Engineering Technology.
Over the course of the week, students will take turns in manufacturing items from scratch. It begins with drawing a blueprint and turning it into a finished product.
"We have made and designed toolboxes, hammers, and center punch. Now we are doing the welding course," said Sayre resident Tanner Green.
Sullivan Stilson is a ninth grader from State College. He is getting firsthand experience in welding. The students will rotate through different career fields over the week.
"It lets you experience it so you know what it's like because you can't tell if you enjoy something without experiencing it," Stilson said.
According to Penn College, there is a high demand in the workforce for machinists, welders, and manufacturing jobs in general.
"Right now, they expect a need of over 4 million manufacturing engineers, and they need more than 600,000 welding engineers, so industry is desperate for students who have these skills," said Webb.
Tanner Green is an 11th grader from Sayre with an interest in welding. He hopes this camp will prepare him for a future career.
"It is pretty important to me to explore trades because not a lot of people are going into them."
All the kids who attend the camp will be eligible for a $4,000 scholarship spanning four years at Penn College.
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