Tours of Hempfield manufacturer can lead to jobs for area high school students

Seven of 11 area high school students who toured Hempfield’s General Carbide complex Wednesday are looking to come back to work there.

“To see these kids coming in and getting excited about manufacturing is pretty amazing,” said Mona Pappafava-Ray, CEO of the maker of finished tooling, wear parts and components. “It gives me great hope for our future.”

The students from Jeannette City and Hempfield Area schools and Central Westmoreland Career and Technology Center got a firsthand look at operations in General Carbide’s three plants as part of the company’s Learning 2 Earning program. It’s a partnership with the Westmoreland County Forum for Workforce Development.

Five seniors who completed the tour are candidates to join the company’s ranks once they graduate, and they’re slated to return in May to participate in a signing day. Two juniors indicated they want to come back next school year to take on jobs while they complete their education as part of a cooperative work program.

The labor shortages that challenged many industries during the covid pandemic prompted formation of Learning 2 Earning two years ago, but
Pappafava-Ray said the program continues to address a long-term need.

“We have got to engage our young people so they understand how important manufacturing is and what a great career they can have,” she said, indicating the industry has a place for workers of varied interests and skill levels.

“We’re so excited to open our doors to these students,” said Jessica Gardner, human resources manager at General Carbide. “We provide them with an immersive learning experience.”

With the company’s managers, engineers and technicians as their guides, the touring students had the chance to see how math and science concepts they learned in the classroom have practical applications in the working world.

A scavenger hunt and game show activity kept the students engaged during their visit, Gardner said.

Connor Porch and Malik Mcintosh, two of the CWCTC students who took the tour, were interested in the benefits, pay and opportunities offered by General Carbide.

“It was a pretty cool environment to be around,” said Porch, who also attends Hempfield Area Senior High School.

“I feel like the people seemed nice. They’re respectful,” added Mcintosh, a Jeannette student. “I like how detailed it is in there, and I feel like I could also do that.”

Mark Long, the workforce education coordinator who helped organize the trip, said job shadowing opportunities like this are growing at the CWCTC.

“It is really eye opening for the kids to see, ‘this is right down the street from me, I can work here and make a liveable wage, I don’t have to go out of town, and they will train me,’” he said. “These opportunities are all around us in Westmoreland County.”

General Carbide offers the tours three times each year. Since the program began, more than 100 students have taken part in tours and 18 have signed on as full-time employees.

“At the end of the day, these students are our future,” said Gardner. “This is how we pass the torch to them.”