Colonial Career and Technology Center

​Conewago Valley School District (CVSD) continues its journey to provide a relevant education for students. The Road 2 Relevance initiative is transforming curriculum to meet the demands of the 21st Century. The Colonial Career and Technology Center (CCTC) is yet another step towards providing students with an education that will enable them to be successful in whatever path they choose.

​Investing in Our Future
Conewago Valley School District is constructing a 25,000 square foot career and technology facility that will provide students with a unique way to look at manufacturing and trades. The facility will be attached to New Oxford High School on the west end of the building. The goal of the Colonial Career and Technology Center is to graduate students with a high level of technical skill and ability. By increasing the skills of entry-level employees, local businesses will realize a higher functioning employee and a significant decrease in training expenditures.

The Solution: Colonial Career and Technology Center
  • The center will include the following trades and learning spaces:
                        o Construction Trades
                        o Machining and Metal Fabrication
                        o Mechatronics
                        o Electronics
                        o Plastics
                        o Robotics
                        o Welding
                        o Graphics
                        o Photography
                        o CAD
                        o Innovation Space
                        o Presentation Area
                        o Outdoor rooftop area for HVAC systems repair
  • The Colonial Career and Technology Center will directly impact Conewago Valley School District students in grades 7-12 and the adult community through adult education. 
  • Through a collaborative effort between local manufacturing experts, HACC, the CVSD staff and Hanover Chamber of Commerce have evolved the CVSD Technical Education curriculum. It has been designed and aligned to develop the essential skills needed by today’s manufacturing employers. This curriculum incorporates fundamental principles of manufacturing that can be leveraged across all industries and is a combination of both classroom and hands on laboratory experiences. Pre apprenticeship and apprenticeship opportunities will be available through the Hanover Chamber of Commerce.
  • Our goal is to make the hands on experience relevant to today’s local industries. The purpose of an equipment upgrade is to give students practical exposure to the CNC, automation and metrology equipment used throughout our factories today and tomorrow. Students will earn industry standard certificates in welding, machining, and electronics. College credit will also be afforded for students participating in welding and mechatronics.
  • The purpose of the facility expansion is not to just house additional equipment; it is intended to market technical careers to both the students and the adult population of the school district. No longer will the Tech Ed departments be relegated to the basements and back hallways of our facilities. They will be brought front and center to our facility highlighting the companies and the career opportunities that have built our local community for decades.
  • Continuing an ongoing partnership between local industry and educators will guide the current and future curriculum. It will also serve as a mechanism to continue to market both technical careers and local manufacturers to our future workforce.

The Skills Gap
Employers are having difficulties filling a number of positions due to a lack of candidates with applicable skills. This lack of qualified candidates is referred to as the “skills gap.” An estimated 2.7 million jobs are likely to be needed as a result of retirements of the existing workforce, while 700,000 jobs are likely to be created due to natural business growth. Thus, manufacturers need to engage people through community, educational, and government programs in order to improve the perception of the U.S. manufacturing industry. Manufacturing executives see developing their workforces as the most effective way to remedy the problem, with 72 percent agreeing involvement with local schools and community colleges is effective. Source: Deloitte analysis based on data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Gallup Survey.

Imagine the positive impact of more students graduating high school better prepared for a manufacturing career.  An understanding of industrial safety
  • A working knowledge of how tools are used
  • Blueprint and process document reading
  • Ability to precisely measure and understand the data
  • Industry quality control and statistics
  • Trade and industry mathematics
  • Problem solving and troubleshooting
  • Automation familiarity
  • Working in a team environment

Benefits to Business
  • A partnership with local manufacturers provides more students with the skills they need to succeed and the manufacturers with a larger pool of skilled workers that have had practical, hands-on learning experiences.
  • This program will build a pipeline of potential employees for the manufacturing industry.
  • More students will graduate high school with certified and/or advanced standing credit to area technical colleges.
  • Graduates will demonstrate improved skills in communication, math, problem solving, teamwork and marketable machining and welding.
  • This upfront investment will be returned to our partnering businesses by lowering training costs.

Manufacturing Advisory Committee
Accountability and ongoing collaboration shall remain a foundation for success of the Colonial Career and Technology Center. To ensure continued collaboration with local business leaders, a Manufacturing Advisory Committee will be created. This group will be comprised of Conewago Valley School District representatives and leaders of local businesses. This group will meet periodically to assess the performance and recommend timely changes. In addition, the Manufacturing Advisory Committee will work to ensure a model of continuous improvement is followed to provide every opportunity for long-term success and impact.

Progress
The facility is currently under construction and will be completed in August of 2019. District representatives working together with local partners are finalizing curriculum, equipment selection, and technology for the new center. The CTCC will be unique in that it will highlight manufacturing materials, systems, and include the latest CNC equipment for students to utilize. According to the Department of Labor and Industry, the CTCC is one of the first facilities of its kind in Pennsylvania.

Partners
The Conewago Foundation for Education (CVFE) has been instrumental in supporting the initiative along with local businesses that have already donated resources and funds to make the project a reality. CVSD is fortunate to have the support of the school board, administration, faculty, CVFE, and the community to bring the CCTC to life and provide our students and community with a program that will no doubt benefit the district and Adams County for years to come. 
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