Inaugural NeMAC Signing Day a Success

Media Release: Gov. Ricketts Hosts NeMAC Signing Day Event LINCOLN – Today, Governor Pete Ricketts and members of the Nebraska Manufacturing Advisory Council (NeMAC) gathered to announce college scholarship recipients at “NeMAC Signing Day.”  Signing Day is the culmination of an inaugural program created to promote in-state manufacturing careers and STEM education among Nebraska youth. […]

National leader sees “awesome” work Nebraska schools are doing to prepare kids for workforce

By Steve White. Thursday, April 19th 2018 With machines whirring around him, Montez King feels at home. He started as a manufacturing work study, and now leads a national manufacturing nonprofit known as NIMS. He believes apprenticeships, the opportunities he had, give kids a future. “That kind of opportunity keeps them out of debt, puts […]

NeMAC Attends 2018 SkillsUSA Nebraska State Championship

A special thank-you to the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce for hosting the 2018 SkillsUSA VIP Tour for business and industry leaders today. Prior to our second quarter meeting, NeMAC members got to see Nebraska’s future workforce in action as they competed in a variety of skilled trades associated with manufacturing. Read more about SkillsUSA […]

Employing Youth in Manufacturing

Work-based learning experiences- such as apprenticeships, internships, and job shadowing- are excellent tools that Nebraska employers can use to develop the youth talent pipeline into the Manufacturing industry. The article and handout found below, published by the Nebraska Department of Labor, provides guidelines for employing young Nebraskans in Manufacturing using work-based learning models. NDOL Youth Article Employing Youth 16 and Older Handout

Gov. Ricketts Opens 2018 Nebraska Developing Youth Talent Initiative Grant Application Process

February 22, 2018 Media Contacts:   Luke Robson, Governor’s Office, 402-471-1967 Kate Ellingson, Economic Development, 402-471-3749 LINCOLN – Today, Governor Pete Ricketts announced that the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) will accept applications until April 9, 2018 for the next round of grant funding from the Nebraska Developing Youth Talent Initiative (DYTI). “Connecting students […]

STEM Meets Libraries: Celebrating National Library Week

From April 10-16, 2016, Americans celebrate the observance of National Library Week, as we have done since 1958. During the week, libraries around the country celebrate library staff, users, and administrators in all types of libraries, from school to public and academic. According to the American Library Association, “It is a time to celebrate the […]

Reinke Manufacturing Company Partners With NCTA

Back in 2014, we covered the announcement when local manufacturer Reinke Manufacturing (you can read more here) decided to partner with the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture. The goal? To speed up the pipeline of irrigation technicians, of which there was a major shortage in the industry. Now, students at NCTA can pursue the Reinke […]

3 Ways to Get Kids Excited About STEM

IT and technology infrastructure company Cognizant has an interesting theory when it comes to STEM education. Their principles of education emphasize the maker approach, operating from the assumption that when it comes to getting kids to pursue STEM careers, being good at science is much less important than being interested in science. So, they see […]

3 Reasons to Enroll In After-School Programs

Elementary school, middle school, and high school students have long days, lots of homework, and extracurricular activities on hand. Few would argue that students have too much time on their hands. However, there’s no doubt that spending extracurricular time in after-school programs is not only helpful, it’s important for youths, families, and communities. According to […]