A new collaboration between Omaha’s Metropolitan Community College and youth development nonprofit The Bay will create a pathway for young adults to develop skills in an in-demand field: manufacturing.
The Manufacturing Gap Year program is a career and skill development initiative for 18-24 year olds interested in exploring opportunities in manufacturing. Metropolitan Community College will offer a course for participants to earn a basic manufacturing credential, while The Bay will offer career coaching, professional development training and connections to internship opportunities.
The Bay operates a similar program at its Lincoln location, which has pathways in photography and videography, entrepreneurship, fashion, graphic design and music. The Bay Workforce Education Director Christina Oldfather said the Omaha program’s manufacturing focus meets a demand they’ve seen from participants and from employers.
“When we look at young adults coming out of high school and trying to figure out what’s next, we’re oftentimes seeing they don’t necessarily want to go to college, or they don’t necessarily think they need to go to college,” Oldfather said. “They’re afraid of the cost, and they’re interested in these alternative pathways. And on the flip side, manufacturing specifically is a really in-demand area where young people can go in and have a really great career.”
Through the partnership with Metropolitan Community College, participants will earn a Nebraska Manufacturing Alliance Council, or NeMAC, Level 1 certification. The NeMAC certifications are a new workforce development program launched by the Nebraska Department of Labor and the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce. Courses are taught at community colleges across the state.
Participants can also earn a general industry certification with the Occupational Safety and Health Association and a Google AI certification.
“This partnership with Metropolitan Community College is a new element of the program,” Oldfather said. “We are really excited about being able to partner their credential with our overall skill building and the phases of our program.”
The program will last 16 weeks, with classes and activities most weekdays. Oldfather said participants will attend the credentialing program on Monday and Tuesday afternoons, with career coaching and exploration programming on Wednesdays. On Thursdays and Fridays, she said, participants will visit manufacturing companies for hands-on learning experiences.
“It’s fairly intensive, but not full time,” Oldfather said. “We try to move people through it fairly quickly, but also recognize that, like anybody, you’re probably going to have a part-time job and life and all of those things.”
Though there’s a $1,500 tuition for the program, Oldfather said The Bay operates on a pay-what-you-can model. Students can request “whatever scholarship they need” to cover the program fee, she said.
The program will begin at the end of August with a cohort of up to 10 people. Applications are still open.