Maryland’s Teacher Manufacturing Boot Camp builds educator-industry connections

We increasingly hear conversations about aligning education with the kinds of skills and practices that are used on the job.

This summer, the Maryland Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MD MEP) brought teachers focusing on career and technical education (CTE) from Baltimore County Public Schools inside local manufacturing operations to provide some firsthand industry knowledge. Maryland Manufacturing Advisory Board, which advises the state’s secretary of commerce, joined as an organizer on the effort.

Held on June 20 and June 24, nearly 30 middle and high school CTE teachers toured five local manufacturers as part of the Teacher Manufacturing Boot Camp.

The third edition of the event featured visits to Baltimore city’s Tulkoff Food Products, Berry Global and Pompeian, along with McCormick & Company in Hunt Valley and TIC Gums in White Marsh.

Teachers touring ⁦@TulkoffFoods⁩ learning about career skills and pathways for students in advanced manufacturing. Lessons teachers will take back to their classrooms! ⁦@CTE_BaltCoPS⁩ ⁦@MDMEP⁩ pic.twitter.com/4A7oEf2HXH

— Alicia Fales (she/her) (@adfales) June 20, 2019

According to MD MEP Leaders from the companies offered tours and presentations that provided a look at the operations inside each facility, as well as entry-level jobs available.

In providing insight about the available jobs and skills needed to teachers, the idea is that they can then share the potential path with students. Inspiring the next generation is important in an industry with workforce needs that is being shaped by new technology, organizers said.

“The leadership teams at Tulkoff Food Products, Berry Global, Pompeian, McCormick & Company and TIC Gums all went above and beyond to put together a dynamic agenda for the teachers,” Michael Kelleher, Executive Director of MD MEP, said in a statement. “We thank them each for the time and care they took to paint a true picture of what it is like to work in today’s modern plant, and the many career possibilities that exist.”