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I. School and Industry Partnership “Tools”

Find industry/school district, school or college models that you can “borrow” and/or adapt to
work for your own school/industry partnership. Partnerships can include a variety of interac-
tions between the two organizations by engaging many people in various work areas at both
institutions. This includes teachers, career counselors, educational administrators, human
resource professionals, engineers, plant managers, and training personnel.

Some of the shared activities will be formal and others will not. The list below represents
interactions/activities that might be part of an exemplary, well-established partnership be-
tween a school and a company in Florida, or anywhere across the country. Several items
have been grouped together to both simplify the list and show that these activities may be
called different names.

 Scholarships/Tuition Assistance/Reimbursement
 Internships/Externships/Work Experience
 Student/Faculty Mentoring
 Advisory Board Participation/Curriculum Development Help
 Industry Demo Projects/Facility Loan
 Funding/Access to Equipment
 Adjunct Faculty/On-site Courses
 Tours and Talks

A strong and sustainable partnership is not only broad (includes a mix of interactions), but
should also be deep, involving people from different parts of both organizations. Some
might refer to this as “adopt a school” or “manufacturing mentors”.

Scholarships/Tuition Assistance/Reimbursement
Scholarships provide students without financial resources with support and opportunities to
pursue a career in the manufacturing industry through further education. Local companies/
professional organizations often have scholarships for local high school graduates that
serve as a great way to “hook” 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
clearly defined learning objectives and goals. They are designed to be an extension of the
classroom, allowing interns to apply their knowledge in a “real-life” setting. They provide stu-
dents 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” require-
ments for completion of technical programs and therefore

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