Building Strong Industry-Education Bonds Through Dedicated Collaboration

Electroform’s Zach Clark leads Hononegah High School’s mold project, connecting with students through humor while supporting McLevige’s class with real-world CAD work. Source: Hononegah High School

High school teachers are asking, “How do I find a company that wants to work with me?” Seems like it should be an easy question to answer, right? However, I’m learning that having a “true” partnership with a local high school to help fill the skills gap takes a daily commitment and regular communication. This is something that Electroform and Hononegah High School in Rockford, IL, have realized and successfully developed. They believe this partnership is valuable, and it’s proving effective! MMT introduced the collaboration between Electroform and Hononegah High School a year ago and recently visited to observe its progress firsthand.

The Partnership

Liz McLevige, a Technology Education Teacher at Hononegah High School, runs the engineering and machining programs. She acknowledges that she was among those instructors asking that burning question mentioned above. However, she decided to take the opportunity when Wade Clark, President of Electroform, invited her to collaborate, despite having some reservations about the skill level of her students.

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She quickly recognized that this opportunity aligns perfectly with the program's philosophy that "Failure is the first attempt at learning." This industry partnership would provide students with real-world experience while teaching them the valuable process of trial and error. “If you make a mistake, you learn from it,” McLevige says.

"The best way to introduce manufacturing to students is incorporating more field trips so they can see that manufacturing is no longer dirty and the money is decent if you are willing to put in the time and effort.”

Hononegah offers seven courses, including Introduction to Engineering Design, Principles of Engineering, Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Engineering Design and Development and two computer science classes. These courses provide students with various options to explore different fields in engineering; however, they do not offer real-world experience. McLevige states, “I can teach students foundational skills, but real-world reinforcement can only come from industry professionals.”

The Project

Electroform Project Manager and Design Engineer Zach Clark heads up the Hononegah partnership and works very closely with McLevige. “Being closer in age to the students, he connects with them easily. His witty back-and-forth makes him a classroom favorite, even if he’s repeating what I just said,” she says.

The partnership kicked off with an injection mold and molding project, involving a paper clip that was sketched by Wade and refined by Zach into a CAD model. After a month of talks with McLevige, they committed to support her classroom.

A paper clip may sound simple, but it teaches core machining skills like facing, contouring and precise hole placement, along with the importance of accuracy from the start. Last year, a student was off by 0.007 inches four weeks into the program, forcing a restart. Sharing these horror stories helps current students learn to do things right the first time, like drilling holes properly.

A simple paper clip mold project teaches precision, teamwork and machining fundamentals to future moldmakers.

Many students come from the school’s robotics team, where they don’t get much machining experience. This class lets them work with lathes, mills and CNC machines, building skills they can use independently. This real-world exposure is missing from most high school and even college classes.

Students test their molds at Electroform. This gives them the chance to see issues like incorrect water lines, burrs on ejector holes or excess flash. Last year, Zach adjusted a screw and fixed ejector hole burrs, showing students that mistakes happen and can be corrected. This hands-on feedback helps them grasp why precision matters.

Over four years, the program has evolved. For moldmaking work, quality is now the top priority — if a mold doesn’t run, something went wrong, and they fix it. “For example, last year, students kept breaking center drills, ruining parts. So, I had a teacher’s assistant machine the blanks. Now, in order for the students to receive their blank after a break, they must complete the machining portion themselves. I want them to understand that a blank is not just a free part that can be easily replaced. I believe it’s important for them to experience some consequence for their mistakes,” McLevige says.

She notes that each year they refine the process, so students face fewer struggles.

Perceptions and Advice

Shop tours reveal clean, high-tech careers that challenge outdated “dirty job” stereotypes and inspire student interest.

If you’re wondering what drives students to join these manufacturing-related programs, McLevige sees a mechanical mindset in many, often from robotics, but notes they don’t always connect machining to a career.

“Money motivates them for internships or side jobs, yet some choose retail over manufacturing because it’s easier — no machines, no dirt, no learning curve,” McLevige says.

She believes schools, including hers, could do better at showing the difference between a job and a career. For example, field trips to clean, modern shops could change their views. “Students are surprised by Electroform’s pristine floors and good pay, countering the old ‘dirty blue-collar’ stereotype,” McLevige says.

McLevige’s advice to manufacturers is simple: reach out. Her partnership with Electroform started at a career fair when Wade pitched the project. She urges teachers not to hesitate — many businesses want to help; it just takes an email or face-to-face chat.

For schools and industry to thrive together, both need commitment. “Wade and Zach visit when they can, breaking down molds or teaching undercuts. Success requires mutual effort,” McLevige says.

“Finding and developing young professionals has become just as critical — and resource-intensive — as growing our customer base.”

Wade understands the severity of the industry workforce challenge and that’s why Electroform invests in this partnership with Hononegah High School. “Finding and developing young professionals has become just as critical — and resource-intensive — as growing our customer base,” Wade says.

His advice to shops: contact local schools, meet with industrial arts or engineering teachers, attend career fairs and persist. Zack agrees, “Take time to teach kids, even outside dedicated projects — visit schools, assist on machining days and show them career paths.”

“Results take time, but we’ve hired five students in recent years — all successes. These kids aren’t lazy; they lack direction, which schools and parents don’t always provide. Mock interviews, project reviews and engagement help uncover their potential,” Wade says.

Seeing students’ projects come to life excites Wade and Zach — not all will join Electroform, but some might return later, inspired by the experience.