NBT announces 2018 manufacturing camp grant recipients

Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs® (NBT), the foundation of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association Intl.® (FMA), Elgin, Ill., has announced that 89 programs will receive 2018 summer manufacturing camp grants.

NBT will award a total of $135,500 in funding grants, from $1,000 to $2,500 each, to community colleges and technical high schools offering summer day camp experiences that introduce young people, ages 12 to 16, to careers in manufacturing and engineering. NBT also provides each camp with curriculum guides, customized T-shirts, marketing help, and other materials. In addition, NBT will support 17 affiliate camps by providing the same camp materials but no funding.

Major sponsors of the NBT camps program are the CNA Foundation, Mastercut Tool Corp., and SolidWorks Corp.

The 2018 camp grant winners are:

• Arkansas State University Newport - Jonesboro Campus, Jonesboro, Ark.
• Bismarck State College*, Bismarck, N.D.
• Blue Mountain Community College, Boardman, Ore.
• Bridgerland Technical College, Logan, Utah
• BridgeValley Community & Technical College*, South Charleston, W.Va.
• Burton Center for Arts and Technology, Salem, Va.
• Butler Tech, Hamilton, Ohio
• Carl Sandburg College, Galesburg, Ill.
• Central Community College, Hastings, Neb.
• Central Louisiana Technical Community College, Jena, La.
• College of the Canyons*, Santa Clarita, Calif.
• Crowder College, Neosho, Mo.
• Davis Technical College, Kaysville, Utah
• Elgin Community College* Foundation, Elgin, Ill.
• Fox Valley Technical College*, Appleton, Wis.
• Francis Tuttle Technology Center at Cashion High School, Oklahoma City
• Gordon Cooper Technology Center, Shawnee, Okla.
• Harper College*, Palatine, Ill.
• Hillsborough Community College, Tampa, Fla.
• Houston Community College Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence, Stafford, Texas
• Indian Hills Community College, Ottumwa, Iowa
• Itawamba Community College, Belden, Miss.
• John Wood Community College, Quincy, Ill.
• Lake Park High School, Roselle, Ill.
• Lakeshore Technical College*, Cleveland, Wis.
• Lake-Sumter State College, Leesburg, Fla.
• Lexington Technology Center (LTC)-Work-Based Learning, Lexington, S.C.
• Linn-Benton Community College, Albany, Ore.
• Long Beach City College*, Long Beach, Calif.
• Madison Area Technical College*, Fort Atkinson, Wis.
• Madison Area Technical College*, Portage, Wis.
• Manatee Technical College, Bradenton, Fla.
• Manchester Community College*, Manchester, N.H.
• Marshall University Research Corporation, on behalf of Robert C. Byrd Institute, Huntington, W.Va.
• Marshall University Research Corporation, on behalf of Robert C. Byrd Institute, South Charleston, W.Va.
• McHenry County College, Crystal Lake, Ill.
• Midlands Technical College Success Center at Fairfield Central High School*, Winnsboro, S.C.
• Milwaukee Area Technical College*, Milwaukee
• Moraine Park Technical College*, West Bend, Wis.
• Northcentral Technical College, Wausau, Wis.
• Northeast Alabama Community College*, Rainsville, Ala.
• Northeast Mississippi Community College, Corinth, Miss.
• Northeast Wisconsin Technical College*, Green Bay, Wis.
• Northwest Florida State College, Niceville, Fla.
• Northwest State Community College, Archbold, Ohio
• Oakton Community College, Des Plaines, Ill.
• Palm Beach State College, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
• Ranken Technical College, St. Louis
• Ridgewood High School, Norridge, Ill.
• Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, Salisbury, N.C.
• Sno Isle Tech, Everett, Wash.
• Southside Virginia Community College, Alberta, Va.
• Southwest Schools, Houston
• Southwest Technical College, Cedar City, Utah
• Southwestern Illinois College (SWIC), Granite City, Ill.
• St. Cloud Technical and Community College, St. Cloud, Minn.
• St. Petersburg College - Tarpon Springs, Tarpon Springs, Fla.
• Tech Valley High School, Albany, N.Y.
• Thomas Nelson Community College, Hampton, Va.
• Triton College*, River Grove, Ill.
• Uintah Basin Technical College, Roosevelt, Utah
• University of Arkansas at Monticello, Monticello, Ark.
• Vincennes University Jasper Continuing Education, Jasper, Ind.
• Weber State University Center for Technology Outreach, Ogden, Utah

*FMA Certified Education Center members

The camps target youth in middle and high school, introducing them to practical applications of math, science, and engineering principles. The camps afford students the opportunities to tour local manufacturing companies, work directly with technology, and design and manufacture a product they can take home. SolidWorks Corp. supports NBT camps with a donation of 365-day licenses of their CAD/CAM student edition design software.

“The demand for highly skilled manufacturing professionals is growing each year, and we don’t see that demand subsiding for decades,” said Warren Long, NBT board chair and commodity manager, Briggs & Stratton Products Group. “It is NBT’s mission to find the workforce of the future, and summer camps introduce young people to manufacturing in a way that sparks their passion for making things. Camp participants learn about the companies in their area, and they leave camp excited and encouraged to pursue the skills training they need for a successful career in manufacturing. Inspiring young people to consider these careers will have a positive impact on technical education programs, create a more qualified workforce, and secure American manufacturing for the next generation.”

Edward Youdell, president and CEO of FMA and NBT, added, “The manufacturing skilled labor shortage won’t solve itself. These camps provide youth with exposure to vocational and technical trades that no longer is available in most public education systems. For most of the young people who attend these camps, it is their first introduction to how things are made and what skills are required for entry into the world of manufacturing. They often discover that the training they will need to get started is readily available in their local community at the very school where they are attending camp.”

NBT also issues scholarships to students attending community colleges, technical colleges, and trade schools to pursue training leading to careers in manufacturing. More information is available at www.nutsandboltsfoundation.org/scholarships.