Plans are well underway to launch Foxconn-related, advanced manufacturing training in area high schools this fall.
The four-course program is designed to give high school students a leg up on Gateway Technical College credits, and expose students to new technologies and career paths, according to Gateway Technical College President Bryan Albrecht. "It's an on-ramp for students to get started in these careers," Albrecht said during a recent edition of WGTD's Morning Show.
While Foxconn is expected to rely heavily on new technology that integrates a greater degree of computerization in manufacturing processes, Industry 4.0, as its sometimes called, is already in play at many existing industries in the area, Albrecht said.
Albrecht says free training for high school teachers will be offered this summer.
Both Kenosha and Racine unified have already signed on, along with Shoreland Lutheran and Union Grove High School. Others like Waterford, East Troy and Burlington are discussing a consortium model that would be offered at Gateway’s Elkhorn campus.
Albrecht says he’d like to have 100 students signed up for the first round this fall.
Offering college-credit courses to high school students is nothing new, Albrecht noted. This year about 3,500 high school students in the tri-county area are enrolled in courses that lead to Gateway credits.
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