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Microburst Learning Debuts Four Manufacturing Virtual Job Shadows

Submitted by: Karen Owens on Dec 09, 2010 at 12:03 pm Tagged with: BMW, career and technology education, career exploration, Cooper Standard, GE Aviation, Manufacturing, virtual job shadows Source: Microburst Learning LLC

Support from AdvanceSC (www.advancesc.org) helps expose young people to manufacturing careers

Microburst Learning announced today that it has completed four new Virtual Job Shadows that promote careers in manufacturing to the state’s middle and high school students. The featured careers are CNC Machinist, Environmental Health & Safety Manager, Materials Planner and Production Technician and are now available for students, educators and parents to access online via the SC Personal Pathways to Success™ web portal (www.scpathways.org).

The recently completed modules were developed under a grant awarded to Boiling Springs and Chesnee High Schools through AdvanceSC to promote the importance of manufacturing careers. According to Deborah Settle, the High Schools That Work site coordinator for Chesnee High School, the project was part of the two schools’ ongoing efforts to promote work-based learning and strengthen their Career and Technology instruction.

As part of the grant process, students from each school served on focus groups to review the content and presentation of the material to determine if other young people would be captivated and engaged in participating in the module. “Our students were most impressed by the amount of information that was conveyed as well as the manner in which it was shared,” Settle explained. “I think they were most excited by the fact that they recognized the local companies that were featured and that gave them all a sense of hope as a wide array of career options was demonstrated. Now they know they can make some really good choices about their futures.”

In addition to the AdvanceSC grant, several business and community partners helped in the development of the manufacturing Virtual Job Shadows. “We certainly appreciate the management and associates at BMW, Cooper Standard and GE Aviation who allowed us to come on site to film video footage as well as interview a number of men and women who are employed in these different areas,” explained Microburst CEO Jordy Johnson. “These business partners helped us convey what the typical
tasks these jobs require as well as provided valuable information on wages, benefits, work schedules and advancement opportunities for these careers. They also share their experiences and advice in a way that we believe will not only inform students but encourage greater interest in learning more about these particular fields.

“The R.D. Anderson Career Center and North Charleston High School also allowed us to come on site and film segments and we are grateful for their assistance and support,” Johnson added.

Microburst has produced 17 of its highly interactive Virtual Job Shadows which provide a myriad of details concerning various career paths. Two more modules, one on Wind Energy Engineer and Mechatronics, will be completed later this month, and the company has secured funding for another 26 modules to be completed in 2011.

Microburst Learning (www.microburstlearning.com) is a SC-based firm that offers highly interactive approaches for personal and professional development. They provide virtual services to students for career planning, employment seeking, training, and other support functions as well as custom e-learning content to meet education and business clients’ training needs.