GRC graduates commit to Sekisui

Published 9:44 am Friday, May 31, 2019

Adecco and the Clark County Area Technology Center hosted a #SigningDay event March 29.

Barrett Bridgewater, program manager at Adecco, said colleges use this concept every year when student athletes sign commitments to play collegiate athletics.

“So, Adecco thought, ‘we can do the same thing,” Bridgewater said.

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The difference for these students is they are going pro.

George Rogers Clark High School graduating seniors Quinton Boone and Lucius Valezquez completed the industrial maintenance career pathway, led by Henry Carl, a former Lexmark professional.

“This means these students have completed four to five classes within industrial maintenance under the tutelage of an experienced industry professional,” Bridgewater said.

Because the students had demonstrated proficiency in the classroom, positive attendance and desire to grow, their teacher recommended them to interview with Sekisui Human Resources Manager Michelle Stevens in September 2018.

Sekisui is an automotive tier-2 manufacturing supplier using a highly advanced plastics extrusion process.

Sekisui offered them an opportunity to participate in a job cooperative.

Throughout their senior year, Boone and Valezquez committed to working an average of 15 hours per week, earning wages, learning concepts, connecting to Sekisui supervisors and mentors and trained within their production, maintenance and quality control teams.

“Successful completion of this work-based learning program means that these students have gained personal strengths, a strong work ethic, developed reliability and other professionalism skills,” Bridgewater said “They demonstrated both the essential ‘soft’ skills and the technical skill competencies to complete the program. This program will have helped these student establish positive work habits as they strive for lifelong learning and a solid career,” Bridgwater said.

Sekisui offered each student a career opportunity because of their abilities, asking them to join Sekisui full-time after graduation.

Valezquez will become a full-time production team member while simultaneously attending classes at the Winchester-Clark County Bluegrass Community and Technical Center campus for the 1 to 1 engineering program.

Boone will move into Sekisui’s college co-op program giving him an opportunity to work at Sekisui under multiple departments while he attends a four-year university to pursue mechanical engineering.

Adecco, Bridgewater said, put together #SigningDay to celebrate these decisions.

“We are excited for these students and for their future as they go pro right out of high school,” he said. “We are hopeful this will be the first of many Signing Day events to come as more employers in Winchester recognize the opportunity to partner with GRC to identify great potential talent, offer cooperatives or apprenticeships while they are in high school to build up the talent, provide an alternative career pathway to great careers and make full-time job offers to keep great talent right here in our community.”