Students Work Together to Solve Real-World Problems
Posted on 09/26/2018 | by The Orbitform Blog Team
With the current trend in the manufacturing industry and the upswing of the economy, manufacturers are struggling to find people to fill jobs and satisfy production requirements. Orbitform is no exception to this trend. Skilled trades workers are hard to find. Upon considering this challenge, Orbitform turned to a local competition for high school students to develop a plan on how to find qualified candidates to fill manufacturing openings.
iChallengeU is a two-week competition sponsored by Michigan Works Southeast, where students work with area teachers, corporate, civic and community leaders to develop solutions to real world problems currently being faced in manufacturing. Through research, evaluation and hands-on experience at a business location, a team of students present solutions at the end of the 2-week period in front of their respective companies and a board of outstanding community members.
This year, Orbitform asked students to answer the following question: “What are the strategies and tactics for filling the pipeline of hiring valid candidates?” The students worked diligently to learn about Orbitform and the local manufacturing atmosphere as well as to understand the challenge companies are experiencing with the lack of qualified applicants.
This group of five very talented students from surrounding schools in the Jackson area, came up with an amazing presentation on their findings, as well as suggestions for filling the pipeline of valid candidates for manufacturing. The team competed against seven groups, each having their own question to answer. With a very powerful and impressive presentation, the Orbitform Team tied for first place and won thousands of dollars in scholarships.
Skilled trades have been down-played for many years now and as a result, manufacturers are struggling to find qualified candidates. Before we reveal the team’s solutions to you, we challenge you to send us your ideas! Email us at sales@orbitform.com with your solution by Tuesday, October 2nd 2018 for a chance to win an Orbitform swag bag, and watch for our blog on Wednesday, October 3rd when we will announce the winner and present the iChallengeU team answers.
For more information on the iChallengeU program, or to become a partner and find a solution for your challenge, go to https://www.mwse.org/ichallengeu/.