HACC was recognized in the Workforce Development category for its Introduction to Manufacturing Program which was developed in partnership with the Hanover Area Chamber of Commerce, South Western, Hanover, New Oxford and Spring Grove High Schools as well as Hanover area manufacturing companies. Introduction to Manufacturing is a college-based program designed to educate high school seniors about today's manufacturing environment, career pathways in manufacturing, and local career opportunities in manufacturing. The course is divided into three parts.
Part I consists of five weeks of classroom discussion and exercises on the evolution of the manufacturing industry and manufacturing economics. Part II includes nine weeks of workplace observations at participating manufacturing companies; students spend one week at each company to learn about the administrative and operational functions of the facility. In Part III, students participate in three weeks of follow-up classroom discussion and exercises focused on critical workplace skills such as attendance, punctuality, communication, teamwork, resume writing, and interview skills.
The program focuses on the Hanover, PA area, which is one of the largest retail areas in Pennsylvania and one of the largest manufacturing regions. Hanover manufacturing employers who participate in the program include Elsner Engineering Works, ESAB, Glatfelter, Hanover Evening Sun, Leister's Furniture, Leonhardt Manufacturing, McClarin Plastics, R.H. Shepard Company, and Utz Quality Foods. At the conclusion of the program, students make a presentation to the Hanover Area Chamber of Commerce Workforce Development Committee and can begin part-time employment at one of the partnering manufacturing companies, while continuing their education at HACC.
Shannon Harvey, Gettysburg Campus associate dean of academic affairs, and Chris Esgar, adjunct instructor in management at the Gettysburg Campus, presented the program and accepted the Bellwether Finalist Award for HACC at a recent Community College Futures Assembly in Orlando, Florida.
The Community College Futures Assembly, now in its 13th year, convenes annually as an independent national policy forum both for key opinion leaders to work as a "think tank" in identifying critical issues facing the future of community colleges, and to recognize Bellwether Finalist colleges as trend-setting institutions. For more information on the Introduction to Manufacturing program, contact Shannon Harvey at the HACC-Gettysburg Campus or Gary Laird at the Hanover Chamber of Commerce.
