Kennametal is determined to Deliver the Promise of manufacturing by educating students on the sustainable opportunities available through engineering and manufacturing careers.
One of the many ways we plan to deliver this promise is through the Kennametal Foundation Young Engineers Program. It began in the Fall of 2011 at Kennametal’s world headquarters in Latrobe, PA. A second program was added in Solon, OH, in 2012. Two years and four semesters later, we have seen more than 100 high school students graduate from the program!
So what does it mean to be a “Young Engineer”?
Twice a week for 15-weeks, students attend the Young Engineers course onsite at Kennametal and work with our employees, also known as Innovators. The students experience what it is like to work in the manufacturing industry and learn the fundamentals of engineering.
With guidance from Kennametal Innovators, the Young Engineers are divided into teams and dive into their assigned engineering projects. This portion of the course mimics our ACE process for new product development. This provides the students the chance to work through the stage gate process of taking a product to market. The students work closely in their teams, set goals, and present periodic progress reports to a group of Innovators who serve as “gatekeepers” in the process.
Young Engineers grad Kelsey Etling admits, “This opportunity helped me decide what I want to go to college for, mechanical engineering, which I previously knew very little about.” Fellow grad Karan Mehta says that the Innovators “…taught us about what engineers do…They connected engineering with other professions and showed the many possibilities that becoming an engineer can lead to.”
These are the types of experiences Kennametal wants to achieve with the Young Engineers Program.
“This program is just one of many educational initiatives we have at our locations globally that seeks to attract more high school students into engineering and manufacturing careers, helping to ensure the sustainability of our industry and provide steady employment for future generations.”
— Carlos Cardoso, CEO, Chairman and President of Kennametal.
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