More than 600 eighth grade students from throughout the Northwoods participated in the Heavy Metal Tour Wednesday at Nicolet College.
During the day, the the students from 15 different schools toured ten different manufacturing facilities and an automotive dealership located in the Rhinelander and Tomahawk areas.
Nicolet College's Dual Credit Coordinator Sarah Gruber says the idea is to expose middle-schoolers to the possibility of a manufacturing career..
. "...They're touring the facilities to find out about the different careers that are available. Whether that's in production or human resources or technology, they're really seeing how manufacturing isn't what they maybe thought it would be. Hopefully this opens their eyes to different possibilities in the future as they think about career opportunities and education opportunities...."
Gruber says manufacturing has changed over the decades....
"...Yes, it has changed. It's very high-tech. I think students have this preconceived idea what manufacturing is and when they tour these facilities they see the technology that is used. They see more of the engineering aspect and I think it really does open their eyes...."
This is the seventh year of the Heavy Metal Tour at Nicolet.
Gruber says she hopes students attending the event will eventually make their way to Nicolet College for more education.
