Dayton Progress establishes high school manufacturing challenge competition

To combat the shortage of skilled manufacturing workers, Dayton Progress Corp., Dayton, Ohio, has announced a manufacturing challenge competition to promote awareness of careers in industrial manufacturing to Dayton-area high schools. The competition includes a prize package valued at more than $40,000 that will be awarded to the school with the most effective and creative program for promoting throughout the school year an awareness of manufacturing career opportunities. The winning school will receive manufacturing computer technology hardware and software and scholarships for its students.

"While careers in manufacturing are some of the highest-paying of all jobs that do not require a college degree, as well as having top opportunities for those having a college degree, unfortunately, they are also often not highlighted in either news media or by our secondary schools," said Alan Shaffer, president and CEO of Dayton Progress. "That's why we created this challenge and scholarship competition — to reward those schools and their students which do the best job of yearlong manufacturing career awareness development."

In addition to the competition prize, four well-paid, after-school internships will be offered to qualified seniors from the top three school districts participating in the contest. Each of the internships is expected to lead to full-time employment upon graduation.

For more information on the competition, contact Rosemary Domansky at 937-859-5111 or rdomansky@daytonprogress.com.

Dayton Progress is a manufacturer of tools and accessories for the metal stamping and metal forming industries.