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SCHOLARSHIP/ TUITION ASSISTANCE / REIMBURSEMENT

Scholarships provide students without financial resources with the support and opportunities
to pursue a career in manufacturing through further education. Local companies/
professional organizations often have scholarships for local high school graduates that
serve as a great way to create a “hook” for local talent and future workforce. Tuition
assistance is often available only to current company employees and links them directly
to education programs relevant to their industry. This allows incumbent workers to enjoy
the benefits of advancing their education through academic degree programs endorsed
by the company.

INTERNSHIPS / EXTERNSHIPS / WORK EXPERIENCE

Internships are supervised learning experiences with a defined beginning and
end, and with defined learning objectives and goals. They are designed to be an
extension of the classroom, allowing interns to apply their knowledge in “real-life”
settings. They provide students with great hands-on exposure to future employers and
educate them about pathways to employment in manufacturing companies. Internships
can be part of technical high school or college-level programs.

For college, internships are often “credit-bearing” requirements for completion of tech-
nical programs and therefore require formal documentation of attendance and learning
outcomes. In many cases internships are paid. For companies, interns provide a way for
them to get an idea of what students are learning in educational programs. Internships
can give companies the opportunity to work with schools to “mold” curriculum so that
it is relevant to industry and provides students with workforce skills and knowledge.
Internships also allow companies to preview potential employees and get needed help
for special projects and tasks.

Externships are experiential
learning opportunities, similar
to internships, but generally not
part of an academic program of
study. They typically provide paid
summer employment for a few
days to several weeks, giving
participants a short, practical
experience in their field of study/
potential career field. Externs get
real-life perspective of current
industry workplace trends.

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