It started in a coffee shop

SMC & HSE partner to train students for real-word career

A meeting held over coffee in late 2024 has led to a partnership between Hamilton Southeastern Schools (HSE) and SMC to train high school students in advanced manufacturing and offer careers to those who choose to complete the program. As part of this partnership, SMC has donated three Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines, valued at over $155,000.

On March 23, SMC and HSE held a ribbon-cutting ceremony and student demonstrations at HSE High School, 12499 Olio Road, Fishers. SMC Corporate Communications Manager Hannah Morrison told The Reporter the event went even better than anticipated.

Morrison

“The facility looks better than I had anticipated it looking,” Morrison said. “We’re incredibly excited about the students and seeing what they’re already accomplishing on the machines. It was a really great event. I couldn’t be happier with it.”

According to Morrison, it all started with two cups of coffee.

“This whole project came about 18 months ago in a coffee shop,” Morrison said. “We had a meeting with Steve Lozier from the schools who sat us down to ask, ‘What are the most critical workforce needs your business has and how can we as a school system help you guys build those pipelines?’ From there, we built out a partnership that looked at how we can start filling these CNC roles. There’s a critical lack of a CNC pipeline, not just in Hamilton County or Indiana. It’s a nationwide shortage.”

CNC operation is a critical role, and one of the most difficult to fill at SMC and countless other companies.

“We donated these machines,” Morrison said. “These were machines that were operational on our line, but that we wanted to be able to send off to the school. So these are the machines that replicate exactly the machines that exist on our floor. What they’re working on in the classroom are the same machines that, if they step into SMC tomorrow, they’ll be working on those same machines. The important part for us was that they’re training on the industry standard. They’re not training on something that’s 30, 40, 50 years old like a lot of other places might have. If they stepped into a baby factory floor tomorrow, whether it’s our business or someone else’s, they’ll have the skills and the knowledge to step right up and know exactly what they’re doing.”

The CNC machines will enhance HSE’s precision machining program, a two- to three-year sequence aligned to industry standards. Those students can also choose to participate in a capstone experience with paid internship opportunities at SMC.

“That’s during their senior year,” Morrison said. They’ll have gone through the theory portions in some of their earlier years, and they’ll start working in the lab and getting practice with it. Once they’re fully skilled up, the school will highlight those who really have a knack for this and are really interested in pursuing this further as a career. They’ll recommend those students to us, who we will bring on for our internship portion. Those are the students who, once they complete that internship, we want to offer a career at the end of it.”

Courses supported through this program include Principles of Precision Machining, Precision Machining Fundamentals, Advanced Precision Machining, and a Precision Machining Capstone, where students gain experience in CNC programming, machine setup, and precision manufacturing processes.

“This partnership is a powerful example of what’s possible when education and industry come together with a shared purpose,” HSE Schools Interim Superintendent Dr. Matt Kegley said. “Students are gaining hands-on experience, earning valuable credentials, and seeing a clear connection between what they learn in school and the opportunities ahead.”

There are already a handful of students taking the class this year who have already started to work on the donated machines. They can earn up to 48 college credits through Ivy Tech and obtain industry-recognized certifications, including National Institute for Metal Working Skills (NIMS) and American Welding Society (AWS) credentials.

According to Morrison, one student at the ribbon cutting said this is not a career he even knew existed, but now that he’s had the chance to learn a little and get some time on the machines, he knows this is what he wants to do as a career.

“Hearing kids find a career that they’re excited about, that’s what it’s really all about,” Morrison said. “There are students already in the pipeline. There are 11 who started it this year. This is the very first pilot of it. And there are already 80 signed up next year to enter this program.”