Developing Skilled Workers
PTI Engineered Plastics developed the PTI Technical Academy to help fill the shortage in skilled labor for plastics manufacturing. Mark Rathbone, the company’s CEO, created the academy to provide a pathway for students with a passion for creation to learn skills in the manufacturing industries.
The Academy is a nine-week program where high school students learn about career opportunities in manufacturing through classes such as mold design, CNC programming, electrical discharge machining, mold maintenance, shop safety, the part design process, and engineering.
“At the high school level, the majority of students don’t have an idea of what manufacturing is about,” explains Scott Kraemer, directing manager of the PTI Technical Academy. “There are not a lot of classes offered on what we do for a living, so we are trying to help give students ideas of what careers in plastics injection molding manufacturing are like.”
See the academy website for more information.
