NBT announces 2011 national manufacturing camp grant awards

Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs® (NBT), The Foundation of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association Intl. (FMA), Rockford, Ill., has announced the winners of its 2011 manufacturing camp grant awards.

NBT awarded nine grants of $2,500 each to community and technical colleges that offer day-camp experiences introducing young people ages 12 to 18 to careers in manufacturing and engineering.

The 2011 grant winners are:

• Rock Valley College, Rockford, Ill.
• Triton College, River Forest, Ill.
• Anoka Technical College, Anoka, Minn.
• Pine Technical College, Pine City, Minn.
• Itawamba Community College, Tupelo, Miss.
• Ogden-Weber Applied Technology College, Ogden, Utah
• Thomas Nelson Community College, Hampton, Va.
• Fox Valley Technical College, Appleton, Wis.
• Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, Green Bay, Wis.

"There is an ever-increasing demand for highly skilled professionals who can design, program, and operate technology," said Traci Tapani, NBT board member and co-owner of Wyoming Machine Inc., a metal fabrication services company in Stacy, Minn. "Thousands of manufacturing companies like mine, located across North America, already see the impact of a manufacturing skilled-labor shortage despite the recent recession and high unemployment statistics.

"Creating a skilled work force in the trades is vital to the future of America, and it all starts with introducing young people to the career potential in this sector and providing an engaging, hands-on experience," Tapani added.

The camps target youth at the critical level of middle school and secondary education, exposing them to math, science, and engineering principles and giving them opportunities to see and work with the technology being used in industry and learn about the high level of skills that will be required from the work force.