Want a high-salary job at Boeing? A local high school is a pipeline for young people | Opinion
Boeing recently celebrated its 1,000th hire from the Core Plus Aerospace program. Core Plus Aerospace is a program for high school students to earn credits while learning, hands-on, the skills needed to pursue careers in advanced manufacturing.
Going from high school to a job at Boeing is a unique and valuable career step for many Washington students. As a former Boeing mechanic and current Core Plus Aerospace instructor at Sumner High School, I have seen how careers can be built and sustained from the ground up.
Growing up, I watched my mother build her 30-plus year career at Boeing, which inspired me to explore careers with them too. At Boeing, I was starting from scratch. Over time, I worked across several manufacturing teams. These moves improved and enhanced my skills, and I grew with the company. One of the biggest things that I tell my students now is that the skills they build today are transferable to any kind of job they might want in the future.
When a position as a Core Plus Aerospace instructor opened, I knew this was the next step for me. One of the benefits of Core Plus Aerospace is that the programs are advised, and often taught, by industry professionals with first-hand knowledge and up-to-date experience on a variety of skills necessary to successfully enter the workforce. I was lucky to get on-the-job training again, this time from the Sumner-Bonney Lake School District. I earned my teaching credential while working as a Core Plus Aerospace instructor.
Today’s students have even more opportunities to learn and grow in manufacturing. Employers are investing in developing their workforce like never before. Our Core Plus Aerospace students are receiving a hands-on education in high school that can kickstart their careers. For those students who are also on track for college, Boeing offers their employees paid college to support an array of career trajectories.
Importantly, programs like Core Plus Aerospace support the development of a more inclusive and diverse advanced manufacturing workforce. Our program at Sumner High School has seen a fourfold increase in the number of girls entering Core Plus Aerospace since I helped launch it in 2021.
The number of multiracial students has increased three times, and the number of students who identify as Hispanic has doubled in that same time frame. The number of students with disabilities and those who are Bilingual increased in even greater percentages. Through Core Plus, these students will develop confidence in their skills as they enter the workforce and adult life.
I encourage even more students to consider Core Plus Aerospace and careers in advanced manufacturing, not just in the Sumner-Bonney Lake School District, but across Pierce County and Washington state. These careers are in demand and the average advanced manufacturing job in Washington offers an annual compensation of more than $97,000.
The Sumner-Boney Lake School District saw thirteen students get hired by Boeing last spring, several of whom participated in a paid summer internship this year too. Additionally, seniors from our SkillsUSA club, which won the 2023 Boeing state assembler competition, were offered positions on the spot! Core Plus Aerospace has proven to be an incredibly effective way for students to explore their passions and develop skills that will jumpstart their careers and serve them for a lifetime.
The summer 2024 internship applications are open this month. I encourage any interested students to apply for a great on-the-job learning experience.
I am so proud of the incredibly hard-working and passionate students I have the privilege to teach. I am even more excited that the skills they are learning are in high demand in the workplace, and they will have any number of options after graduation, such as starting careers at companies like Boeing, pursuing apprenticeships, and earning industry-aligned certificates and degrees that will take them any number of places.
These students are the future of advanced manufacturing in Washington.
I can’t wait to see what they build.