State Senator Ken Horn and 95th District State Representative Amos O’Neal joined SME Education Foundation Vice President Rob Luce and his PRIME team as the program is officially presented to the Saginaw Career Complex (Photo- Ric Antonio; WSGW)

Seven schools in the Saginaw Middle School District joined the SME Education Foundation’s PRIME school initiative with a Michigan Marshall Plan grant for talent.

These schools include: Saginaw Career Complex, Heritage High School in Saginaw Township, Birch Run, Hemlock, Swan Valley and Merrill.

Legislation enacted in June 2019 created the partnership between educators and employers to enhance Michigan’s talent pool.

Rob Luce, vice president of the SME Education Foundation, says the Partnership Response In Manufacturing Education (PRIME) initiative provides schools with a program designed to provide students with hands-on training on modern, industry-standard equipment. industry.

Shelley Wooley, director of educational programs at SME, says they are actively researching the needs of each field to enter a program that allows students to explore an education more aligned with what local manufacturers lack.

As of 2011, SME PRIME schools have been added in 63 communities across 22 states, with 17 PRIME schools now in Michigan and 16 more are expected to start over the next two years.