The Caldwell Group, Inc. was part of a program celebrating Beloit Memorial High School’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) program in an event attended by the Wisconsin State Superintendent of Schools at Beloit Memorial on February 4.
Caldwell, a Rockford, IL-based manufacturer of material handling and lifting equipment that also has a location in Beloit, WI, leads a welding education outreach program in the Stateline area to create a pipeline of welders by reaching local students via high schools and tech schools. Dr. Jill Underly, the Wisconsin State Superintendent, will visit Beloit Memorial and five other Wisconsin high schools as part of a kick-off for National CTE Month. The purpose of the visit is to highlight school programs and how they are connecting with Industry and Business Partners. Caldwell will be on hand to help highlight the work Career Academy Coach Brian Michels and welding teacher Joseph Kluge have done for the welding program.
Caldwell’s outreach efforts have a goal of reaching students interested in welding. Beloit Memorial is among a group of schools recognizing the great opportunities welding and Caldwell can offer and helps its students see what a strong career path manufacturing can be.
Doug Stitt, president and CEO at Caldwell, said: “There is a huge shortfall in the number of new welders the U.S. is producing versus demand. Dr. Underly’s visit will bring welcome attention to not only the issue, but the role the manufacturing sector can play in providing a solution that can also enrich the education and future careers of our region’s young people. Too often, these careers are under-promoted, leaving students unaware of opportunities available in the skilled trades.”
Caldwell’s program is pioneered by Amy Garris, education outreach and executive assistant. Having spent 24 years as an educator, Garris has a clear understanding of what students respond to, as well as the challenges, pressures, and limited resources many teachers face. Garris will join Michels and Beloit Memorial leadership to highlight to Dr. Underly and her team how welding and Computer Numerical Control (CNC) create lifters, below-the-hook equipment, and other Caldwell products.
Garris said: “We recently purchased much-needed weld test kits for the Beloit Memorial students, as their program has been operating on an extremely limited budget. It is timely that Dr. Underly should make a landmark visit when Beloit students and Caldwell are together demonstrating the power of such partnership between the education and manufacturing sectors. We can’t wait to show them how exciting the lifting industry can be.”
Caldwell’s ‘We make cool stuff’ tagline is a good example of how the business is trying to champion its work and demonstrate what welding can help to achieve in the wider world. Its U.S. Youth Apprenticeship Program, meanwhile, is a structured work-based learning initiative that combines paid on-the-job training with classroom instruction for high school or early post-secondary students (aged 16 to 18). It is designed to give young people real-world experience while they earn academic credit and industry-recognized credentials.