TCHS’s Advanced Manufacturing Premier to Connect Employers with Future Workforce

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TCHS instructor Nicholas Nelson discusses advanced manufacturing with students at Great Valley High School.

From a young age, Nicholas Nelson – an instructor of engineering and advanced manufacturing at the Technical College High School (TCHS) Pickering Campus – has been fascinated with robotics.

“I love programming, being able to control something remotely, like a robot moving across a table,” said Nelson, 23, a native of Latrobe in western Pennsylvania. “It’s satisfying, being able to take a design and make it into something tangible.”

On Monday, Dec. 11, the next generation of students who share Nelson’s interests have a unique opportunity to attend AMP (Advanced Manufacturing Premier), a manufacturing expo and all-day event at TCHS Pickering, located on Charlestown Road in Phoenixville.

“Most people might not be aware of how much of our day-to-day lives would be completely different without advanced manufacturing,” said Nelson. “People who attend AMP will have the opportunity to make the connection between the things they use or encounter in their daily lives and the local companies that make those products.

“This is a fast-paced, highly technical, and very rewarding industry.”

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The goal of AMP is to provide attendees with a broad view of all opportunities touching advanced manufacturing. Also, educational partners will be on hand to offer students and adults opportunities for academic and skill development specific to engineering and manufacturing.

The event has been planned as a way to get high school students, their parents, and adults excited about careers in advanced manufacturing.

AMP will feature the following activities:

  • college exploration
  • hands-on demonstrations
  • industry and college tables
  • industry tables and demos
  • keynote speaker John Shegda
  • meet-and-greets
  • Q&A with current manufacturing employees
  • Q&A with employers and college partners
  • student STEM activities

The companies participating include:

  • Acero Precision
  • ANRO
  • Bender Inc.
  • Boy Machines, Inc,.
  • Communications Test Design Inc. (CTDI)
  • Emerson ASCO Numatics
  • ifm prover
  • Infiana USA Inc.
  • Manufacturing Alliance of Chester & Delaware Counties
  • M&S Centerless Grinding
  • Omega Design Corporation
  • ONExia Inc.
  • Rockwell Automation

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The collegiate partners participating are:

  • Delaware County Community College
  • Montgomery County Community College
  • PA Air National Guard/Community College of the Air Force
  • Penn State University
  • Reading Area Community College
  • Thaddeus Stevens College

Nelson, for his part, worked as a machinist when he was just 17 years old, then earned an associate’s degree from Westmoreland County Community College in robotics technology and a bachelor’s degree from California University of Pennsylvania in technology.

“I attended a tech school, much like TCHS, and was fortunate enough to be exposed early on to the machining side of the industry. I worked as an automation technician, then an automation specialist while I pursued my degrees.

“AMP is a great opportunity for people to explore the different career options within manufacturing. The high starting salary in these fields is one of the biggest selling points with my students. Their faces light up when I tell them how much they could potentially make.”

Click here for more information about AMP.

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