Daily Newsletters
Account
Washington Evening Journal
111 North Marion Avenue
Washington, IA 52353
319-653-2191
Fairfield Middle School students tour local businesses
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
FAIRFIELD – Fairfield Middle School students spent Wednesday morning touring local businesses to get a flavor of the jobs that await them after graduation.
All 220 students in grades seventh and eighth participated in the tours, which featured 11 entities that opened their doors to show the youngsters what a typical day is like. The tours were part of the middle school’s Leader in Me community initiative. Middle school science teacher Cory Klehm said this first-time event was created by FMS teachers to educate Fairfield’s youth about future job opportunities in town.
One of the businesses that welcomed students Wednesday morning, Nov. 13, was Agri-Industrial Plastics. Students broke into groups of five to be led around the manufacturing plant by an employee, who showed them the factory’s blow-molding machines.
Amy Jones, the company’s Director of Human Resources and Business Development, told the middle schoolers about the company’s history and the products it makes.
“Agri has always believed in opening our doors to students of all ages,” Jones told The Union, “to make sure they have an understanding of the careers in advanced manufacturing. We feel it’s such a great opportunity to connect with students and answer any questions they might have.”
Jones said youngsters who tour the facility are usually blown away by what they see.
“They say, ‘Wow, the robots are so cool and the machines are so big!’” Jones said. “It opens their eyes to something that is right here in their backyard that they probably didn’t imagine.”
Jones said she wants young people to know that there is a wide range of careers in advanced manufacturing, some of which require post-secondary education and some that do not.
“Our machine operator position has a four-week paid training program with dedicated trainers the entire time,” she said. “It’s helpful to have a two-year degree for some positions, and for others, we’ll train you.”
Apart from Agri-Industrial Plastics, the other businesses that participated in Wednesday’s tours were Creative Edge, Schaus Vorhies Manufacturing, Aeron Lifestyle Technology, Dexter, Village Vet, TrafFix Devices, Jefferson County Law Center, Jefferson County Health Center, Fairfield Water Department and the Army National Guard.
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
