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SCOT MCLEMORE: Part of our secret sauce
is us designing and building our own manufacturing equipment.
So a lot of the automation, a lot
of the conveyance, a lot of the welding equipment
that we use in our operations is designed and built
right behind the Marysville auto plant.
I think many people just think that the parts show up here
and we assemble it.
But in actuality, coiled steel comes in the front door
and then a finished product goes out the back door, all
done with many associates building the product
and making sure that the quality is what our customers expect.
SCOT MCLEMORE: When I was an engineer 30 years ago
in the Marysville auto plant just across the street,
all of the robotics were hydraulic and pneumatic.
Now they're a completely different type of technology.
And that's why we're working to create
these pathways into Honda.
In Central Ohio, we've become an effective team.
And it started with Jeff Spain.
JEFF SPAIN: Approximately 10 years ago,
Honda reached out to us.
They were doing future projections
of the lack of electromechanical technicians
within Central Ohio.
They needed a program that could help them build that.
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SCOT MCLEMORE: When Columbus State
started connecting with ATE, Jeff
brought the concept and model to life
where students could continue studying at Columbus State
while working at Honda three days a week.
JEFF SPAIN: To look at some of the folks
that we've been able to have an impact on and see how they're
their first generation to go to college,
and to see that they are going to have a career that will make
them happy, that will make them able to do things in their life
that they want to, that is a marker of success.
SCOT MCLEMORE: This ATE collaboration impacted
what we're doing here in Central Ohio.
This type of intentional collaborative model
is the way of the future.
We're stepping into the flexible apprenticeship on the IT side,
which will be really cool.
DAVID HARRISON: You've been just such an incredible partner.
Like you say, it took you two years to get your ITP--
SCOT MCLEMORE: I've developed a strong partnership
and relationship with Dr. Dave Harrison, President
of the college.
DAVID HARRISON: Student success is
at the core of why we're here.
And we're really here to help students achieve their goals.
And for many of our students--
all of our students at some level--
their goal is to get a good job on the way
to a high growth career.
SCOT MCLEMORE: Through ATE funding and collaboration,
they were able to realign the curriculum so that students
had a high degree of technical skills
that other students traditionally wouldn't have.
JEFF WOODSON: They can tell us real-time,
your students need to know a little more
about this particular software package,
or it would be nice if they have a skill set coming in,
but they really need A or B. And we can real-time
fine-tune that.
SCOT MCLEMORE: The initiative has definitely paid off.
Through that funding, that allowed
us to collaborate so that we could build this talent
pipeline and upskill as well as help prepare
the talent for the future.
ANTON DELA FUENTE: You go to school,
have a fraction in the cost of education,
and then immediately basically have a job.
SCOT MCLEMORE: The transition was
very smooth for Anton moving in to become a student
technician here at Honda.
He's done quite well since he's been here.
ANTON DELA FUENTE: Getting your education at the same time
you're working in a manufacturing facility,
it emphasizes everything you're learning.
SCOT MCLEMORE: It's allowed us to scale this type of process,
and program, and pathway so that many manufacturers
and many employers can get in and become
a part of the solution.
JEFF SPAIN: The ability to rapidly scale the program
that we've put together would not have been there
without the NSF ATE program.
Having the guidance and the funding really
allowed us to build the program out
and to make it what it is today.
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SCOT MCLEMORE: You have to be creative
and you have to be collaborative.
You have to continue to work with ATE
to be able to sense the changes that are happening because it's
changing so rapidly.
ANTON DELA FUENTE: I love my job.
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