Fayette County School System teachers and school system administrators suit up in preparation to tour the “clean room” at Gerresheimer in Peachtree City. Photo/Submitted.
Fayette County School System teachers and administrators became the students recently while touring industry sites in Peachtree City when they got a close-up look at the skills needed for today’s workforce.
“Middle and high school engineering teachers throughout the school system toured two local international manufacturing companies to see what modern-day manufacturing looks like, the job skills that are needed, and how they can incorporate those skills into their classroom instruction to prepare students for future careers,” said school system spokesperson Melinda Berry-Dreisbach of the recent tour.
Hoshizaki in Peachtree City was the first stop on the tour where teachers saw a plant that uses vertically integrated manufacturing to build ice machines from raw materials to finished product, Berry-Dreisbach said.
“They also heard from the company’s human resources and design engineering and production management personnel about key skills needed to work in the industry such as management capabilities, teamwork, good communications, and other essential soft skills,” said Berry-Dreisbach.
Teachers and administrators made their second and final stop a short distance away at Gerresheimer Medical Systems, where they got a first-hand look at injection molding in a certified clean room. Gerresheimer leaders shared the wide range of technology jobs available at their facility, as well as the training and postsecondary education required in their industry, said Berry-Dreisbach.
“The tour was designed to help the engineering teachers learn about, and incorporate state-of-the-art engineering principals into their curriculum, linking what is being taught in the classroom to actual work settings,” Berry-Dreisbach said. “The teachers will use one of their professional learning days in early January to collaborate and write lesson plans incorporating what they learned. The plans will be shared with teachers across the school system.”
The tour was the second the school system has organized for teachers. Teachers over the summer and across all grade levels participated in a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) tour of local industries and businesses to learn how STEM and art concepts work together in various fields. They also collaborated as a group to design grade-level lesson plans that have been made available to all teachers in the school system, Berry-Dreisbach noted.
Future industry tours are being planned for Career and Technology Education (CTE) teachers based on the career pathway clusters they teach, such as culinary arts, business and marketing and transportation, Berry-Dreisbach explained.
