LOUISVILLE—GE Appliances recently launched a two-pronged initiative to develop the next generation of manufacturing talent.

GEA2DAY will offer opportunities for local high school seniors to join a new, weekly two-day workforce that provides a $14 an hour wage, real-world work experience and up to $6,000 per year in college tuition. GE Appliances is also offering virtual classroom experiences to high school students to expose them to manufacturing.

“GE Appliances has been one of Louisville’s leading manufacturers for more than 65 years,” says Melanie Cook, chief operating officer at GE Appliances. “This is a tremendous opportunity for us to showcase the careers available here at GE Appliances, while helping to develop our pipeline and recruit and train the American manufacturers of tomorrow.”  

The GEA2DAY program will create a part-time workforce that will only work two days a week—Mondays and Fridays.

“As most full-time employees use their vacation and discretionary days to extend the weekend, [we] created this new program to not only fill a staffing need, but to improve flexibility for those seeking part-time work in a manufacturing environment,” explains Cook.

“As manufacturing companies in Kentucky and across the country struggle to find workers with the skills needed to succeed in today’s high-tech manufacturing world, [we] will continue to lead in developing innovative initiatives like GEA2DAY to help address this issue,” adds Cook.

Students in the Doss High School manufacturing program will be able to take a virtual tour of GE Appliances in March 2019 and have a live web chat with employees who currently work at the company’s Appliance Park complex. Students will be able to ask employees about career opportunities, job responsibilities, and the education and experience required to apply for manufacturing jobs in the future.

“As part of the virtual classroom initiative, students will be given a real-world manufacturing problem to solve for GE Appliances,” says Cook, who is encouraging all American manufacturers to partner with their local school districts to launch similar programs in their communities.