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Ford Motor Company Expands Innovative Career Academies to Detroit to Help Students Improve Technical Job Skills

2015-05-05 09:00 ET - News Release

  • Ford to help students learn science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills as part of a broader focus on technical careers
  • Ford, in collaboration with the UAW, plans to add four career academies in Detroit to growing national network supported by the Ford Next Generation Learning initiative, part of Ford Motor Company Fund
  • By 2020, Ford expects to have 20 academies serving 7,000 students in cities where the company has assembly plants, as well as elsewhere in the U.S.


Company Website: http://corporate.ford.com/
DETROIT -- (Business Wire)

Ford Motor Company is accelerating efforts to train future engineering, manufacturing and IT professionals by adding four career academies in Detroit that will serve 1,400 students.

The Detroit career academies will join the nationally growing Powered by Ford STEM Academy network that Ford is building to help prepare students for jobs in the 21st century, and meet the growing need for workers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

“These academies are an innovative way to invest in our future workforce,” said Felicia Fields, group vice president, Human Resources, Ford Motor Company. “Not only do they help students make the connection between classroom learning and a career, they address our need for workers with strong technical backgrounds.”

Ford currently has four academies in three locations -- Volusia County, Fla., Louisville, Ky., and Utica, Mich. When the Detroit academies are added, the network will be serving 2,800 students. By 2020, Ford expects to have 20 academies serving 7,000 students in cities where the company has assembly plants, as well as elsewhere in the U.S.

The academies are a combined effort from Ford’s STEM educational programs and its national Next Generation Learning (Ford NGL) initiative. Ford NGL, which was launched by the Ford Motor Company Fund in 2006, provides financial support, coaching, mentoring and technical support to 20 communities in the U.S. The UAW is also supporting the academy effort on multiple fronts, including teacher externships, which bring teams of teachers into Ford facilities to gain first-hand workplace experience.

Academy students attend their regular high school. However, instead of participating in general classes, they learn their rigorous, standards-based core academics through projects grounded in engineering, information technology, and manufacturing. For example, students at the manufacturing academy in Jeffersontown High School in Louisville learn math and science in the context of issues they would encounter in a manufacturing facility such as Ford’s Louisville Assembly Plant.

Working through the Ford Fund, Ford Motor Company’s philanthropic arm, Ford is providing four Detroit schools with training and professional development to support instruction in STEM-themed programs. Once final agreements are in place, the schools will have the opportunity to join the Powered by Ford STEM Academy network, where they will have access to a range of support, including student scholarships, equipment, mentors for student projects and professional development for teachers. The four schools Ford is working with are:

• Detroit Leadership Academy – Detroit

• Frederick Douglass Academy for Young Men – Detroit

• Detroit Institute of Technology at Cody – Detroit

• Osborn Collegiate Academy of Math, Science & Technology – Detroit

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Michigan, manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 194,000 employees and 66 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford and its products worldwide, please visitwww.corporate.ford.com.

About Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services

Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services works with community and global partners to advance driving safety, education and community life. Ford Motor Company Fund has operated for more than 65 years with ongoing funding from Ford Motor Company. Ford Driving Skills for Life is free, interactive, hands-on safety training focused on skill development and driving techniques, while addressing inexperience, distractions and impaired driving.Innovation in education is encouraged through Ford Blue Oval Scholars, Ford Next Generation Learning and other inspiring programs that enhance high school learning and provide college scholarships and university grants. The Ford Volunteer Corps enlists more than 30,000 Ford employees and retirees each year to work on local projects that strengthen their communities and improve people’s lives in more than 40 countries around the world. For more information, visit http://community.ford.com.

For news releases, related materials and high-resolution photos and video, visit www.media.ford.com.

Contacts:

Ford Motor Company Fund
Todd Nissen
313-322-4898
tnissen@ford.com
or
Ford Motor Company
Becky Sanch
313-594-4410
bsanch@ford.com

Source: Ford Motor Company

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