First up for students at Milacron Academy: Reassemble this press

The Milacron Advanced Manufacturing Academy (AMA) is back in session with a new instructor, machine and curriculum for 15 high school seniors beginning industry training and possibly launching careers at a life-long employer.

The AMA is in its second year at the Grant Career Center in Bethel, Ohio, where Rodney Hayslip, an instructor with 30 years of experience, was hired. The program also added an all-electric Roboshot machine to the expanding curriculum.

Four graduates from the first year of the program are now full-time employees at the headquarters of Batavia, Ohio-based Milacron, which employs about 1,000 people in southwest Ohio, northern Kentucky and southeast Indiana.

Like many companies, Milacron is bracing for a wave of retirements and the loss of staff with 40-50 years' experience, according to Jodi Wittmann, senior human resources director.

The AMA was designed to create an employee pipeline without students needing to leave their school campus their senior year.

AMA stands out as the only technical school in the state of Ohio with an in-house company-sponsored program, a news release says, citing the Clermont Country Chamber of Commerce.

The program integrates classroom instruction with hands-on training on industry equipment for a work-based learning experience.

Students gain technical expertise and industry-specific competencies to jumpstart successful careers in the field of manufacturing, specifically plastics processing, Wittmann said in an email.

The four recent AMA graduates who were immediately brought on board with Milacron this past spring and are thriving, Wittmann said in an email.

The Milacron headquarters staff fill a range of roles from human resources, including information technology, finance and marketing, assembly, engineering, warehousing and more. Wittmann said the four AMA graduates work in the areas of machine operations, electrical wiring and quality.

"Their primary focus is ensuring the assembly of our high-quality machines are done accurately. Their education and hands-on experience received from the program at Grant provided them a head start coming in to work for us," Wittmann said.

The student hires get a skill-based pay scale and as Milacron associates receive an ample benefits package that kicks in immediately, including 401K, health benefits and three weeks paid time off, Wittman added.

Hayslip, the new instructor, has 11 years' experience with Milacron and will oversee a lab space getting another injection molding machine in addition to the existing Milacron all-purpose Q-Series plastics processing machine.

The addition of the all-electric Roboshot to the AMA lab delivers greater depth to students' manufacturing experience, according to Mike Parry, superintendent for Grant Career Center.

"This machine platform is widely used in the medical molding industry for small-part plastics, like COVID test kits, syringes and vials," Parry said in a news release. "The machine addition opens up a whole new world for our advanced manufacturing students to explore as they build their portfolio before entering the workforce."

The original Q-Series injection molding machine was donated to the program as a part of the initial curriculum through Milacron and a grant from the state of Ohio was used to purchase the Roboshot to boost interest in the program and manufacturing.

The Q-Series is a general-purpose injection molding machine, whereas the Roboshot is an all-electric, giving students the opportunity to work on two very different presses and expand their own manufacturing portfolio, Wittmann said.

Currently, the Q-Series is sitting disassembled in the lab space, but for a good reason. The students will have it re-assembled by December as a part of the curriculum this academic year.

Also, additional assembly, including mechanical, hydraulic and electrical components, has been added to the curriculum.

"The trend to learn a skilled trade is on the upward swing again, and up until two years ago, we had nothing to offer in the manufacturing space," Parry said. "We hope to graduate even more students in 2025 that can dive straight into a successful career at Milacron."