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Choffin students ready for in-demand manufacturing jobs
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Josh Abell of Youngstown Christian High School and Jo’Nathan Russ, a student at Summit Academy High School, use a drill in the precision machining program at Choffin Career and Technical Center in Youngstown. The course teaches students how to read blueprints and to safely operate and program a variety of advanced machines to manufacture parts with precision.
By Denise Dick
Youngstown
Choffin Career and Technical Center is getting students ready for one of the most in-demand fields in the region.
“I was at a workshop last week, and in the five counties, there are 1,195 manufacturing companies,” said Bob Morrell, precision machining manufacturing technologies instructor.
But companies have a hard time filling the jobs with qualified applicants.
“It’s one of the top seven jobs in the country,” Morrell said.
“It’s right up next to attorneys and other things. Manufacturing is the backbone of industry.”
There are 14 juniors enrolled in the precision machining course at Choffin and 10 seniors.
“Just about any job uses something that was made in a machine shop,” the instructor said.
“That pen was made using a mold in a tool and die shop.”
The jobs are high-skill, he said.
Students learn critical thinking and math skills in the program, and upon graduation, students from the program can get a job, he said.
Starting out, workers earn about $13 per hour, moving up to about $17 per hour after three to five years on the job. The top average is $28 per hour.
Jessica Borza, executive director of the Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition, said machining is the group’s highest priority.
“That’s where we see the greatest need,” she said.
The MVMC formed to recruit new, qualified employees into the skilled trades needed to operate member businesses.
Members include companies throughout the Mahoning Valley.
“The companies involved in the coalition came together around the need for machinists,” Borza said.
“A large percentage of our membership is in need of machinists.”
The problem is twofold. First, a large number of skilled workers are retiring, taking their skills with them, she said. Second — which is a good thing — is that manufacturing has been growing in the region, she said. That creates even more positions to fill.
Perception may be part of the problem, too.
These aren’t careers young people typically are drawn to, she said. People remember the downturn of the steel industry.
Borza said that’s a perception the coalition is working to change.
“These are great jobs, and they have a high skill level and great career pathways,” she said.
Morrell said precision machining isn’t something about which most people growing up know.
Jo’Nathan Russ, 16, and Jonathan Koenig, 16, both from Summit Academy High School, and Josh Abell, 18, from Youngstown Christian High School, are among the juniors in Morrell’s class. They’re sold on the program.
Russ likes that the work is hands-on.
“We get to do the work now rather than waiting 12 years [in school] before we get to do it,” he said.
Abell likes the variety. One day he might work on the lathe and then labor on the computer numerical controls machine, the 3-D printer or vertical end mill the next.
Koenig got introduced to Choffin through a “buddy day” at the school, when prospective students visit and learn about the programs to see if they’re interested in enrolling.
“I saw all of this equipment that was like what a guy who was like a grandfather to me had in his garage,” Koenig said.
He signed up.
Koenig is good at math and precision machining allows him to use that strength to his advantage.
Abell got interested in precision machining when he watching a History Channel show called “How It’s Made.”
“I thought, ‘That looks like a cool job,’” he said.
The prospect of a job that pays well also appealed to him, Abell said.
He likes the work, but he points to a poster on the wall that keeps students mindful of the most important things, both in class and in a shop.
“Safety, accuracy and speed,” the poster says.
Safety is the most important thing, Josh said. Workers have to be careful to follow precautions for the well-being of themselves and their co-workers.
Accuracy is crucial because one little miscalculation will throw off your whole project, requiring you to start over. While speed is valued, it’s listed last.
“When you really hurry, accidents can happen,” Abell explained.
All three boys plan to attend Youngstown State University after high school graduation, and Josh and Jonathan hope to start a business together.
Anyone who wants to schedule a buddy day to check out the precision machining program may call Morrell at 330-744-8761.
“This really is the best-kept secret — Choffin Career Center as a whole,” Morrell said.