Precision education through Uniquely Abled Academy

May 08, 2023

Inside the Crawford Tech precision machining shop on a recent afternoon, several newcomers to the trade were preparing their three-axis milling machines as they continued work on the mini 1-2-3 blocks they were drilling.

The rectangular steel blocks featured sides with a 1-2-3 length ratio and holes spaced evenly through the sides, the number of the holes depending on how far each particular student had progressed. The blocks are similar to those that might be found in any machining shop, used to secure parts when using a surface grinder or a variety of other tasks.

At one mill, Aaron Tomcho, 20, had finished filing burrs off a block and was tightening the mill's vice to secure it in place before drilling. Next, he seats the block, using a rubber dead blow hammer to ensure that the steel parallels — the precision machined steel supports under his block — are secure as well.

"The gap that's in between the parallels and the part," he explains to an observer who's unfamiliar with machining, "it's not discernible to the eye."

At the next milling machine, Jonathan Finck, 18, of Conneaut Lake is filing his block in preparation, and nearby Shannon Vernier, 31, and William Hough, 19, both of Meadville, are finishing up in the adjoining classroom before starting work at two of the other milling machines.

The four students make up the first cohort in a new program that aims to take a precision approach to career and technical training for an underserved population.

The Uniquely Abled Academy aims to train high school graduates who have high functioning autism in precision machining as well as the "soft" skills required to succeed in the workplace.

The program taking place this fall at Crawford Tech offers participants 405 hours of training as computer-numerical control operators and is the first of its kind in northwestern Pennsylvania. On Monday, community members will have a chance to get a closer look at how things are going when the academy holds an open house from 4 to 6 p.m. at Crawford Tech.

Spoiler alert: Things are going pretty well so far, according to program participants and organizers.

Vernier called the program "a breath of fresh air," particularly for students who have encountered challenges thriving in traditional educational settings.

"People with autism are pretty underserved usually and more often tasked with adapting to neuro-typical environments," Vernier said. In fact, she added, finding herself in a learning environment designed to accommodate autistic needs instead of one in which autistic people need to do the adjusting was "a first."

After what she described as an early-pandemic burnout in her previous marketing copywriting position left her feeling directionless, Vernier was glad to have found the Uniquely Abled program.

"This is an environment built for me to thrive," she said. "The fact that these people are here trying to support and accommodate my autism has been very healing. I think I’m being met with a support network that I haven't had in the past."

For Hough, much of the program's appeal came from the hands-on learning style.

"It's not like school, where you just go in and sit in a classroom and you take a test," Hough said. "I don't work well in those kinds of environments."

It also helps that the program's organizers and instructors have been able to adapt to the varying strengths and experiences of the four class members, according to Hough.

Bringing the participants to the point where they are ready to be employed by one of the numerous area firms looking for precision machining staff is the whole point, program coordinator Dawn Bailey said.

Part of that means working on the skills required to be a good employee in addition to technical machining competence, part of means industry networking, according to Bailey. Already the group has visited Highpoint Tool and Machine, Pinnacle Molds and Acutec Precision Aerospace Inc., and they have plans to visit additional employers with job shadowing a possibility as well.

"They’ll have the basics," Bailey said regarding expectations for when the participants complete their training in January, "and they’ll have good employee skills — soft skills, work ethic, that kind of thing."

Motivation, work ethic and attention to detail have been in plentiful supply so far, according to Tim Barickman, one of the machining instructors introducing program participants to the world of CNC machining.

"They definitely should be employable when they get done with the program," Barickman said. And while it's still early in the program, Barickman had already seen indications which students might make better mill operators and which might be well suited as quality assurance inspectors.

"There's all kinds of jobs in this area," he said. "You drive through town and every machine shop or tool-and-die shop has a sign in their front yard — help wanted."

Mike Crowley can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at [email protected].

Should Pennsylvania have a "right to repair" law?

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.

You can find the most current list of participating businesses for this year's Reader Rewards Card here!