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At West-MEC, high school students are learning advanced manufacturing to secure immediate job opportunities in Arizona's expanding technical sectors.
from SUN 8:00 AM MST until SUN 2:00 PM MST, Upper San Pedro River Valley including Sierra Vista/Benson, Baboquivari Mountains including Kitt Peak, Upper Santa Cruz River and Altar Valleys including Nogales, South Central Pinal County including Eloy/Picacho Peak State Park, Galiuro and Pinaleno Mountains including Mount Graham, Upper Gila River and Aravaipa Valleys including Clifton/Safford, Tucson Metro Area including Tucson/Green Valley/Marana/Vail, Chiricahua Mountains including Chiricahua National Monument, Eastern Cochise County below 5000 ft including Douglas/Wilcox, Santa Catalina and Rincon Mountains including Mount Lemmon/Summerhaven, Dragoon/Mule/Huachuca and Santa Rita Mountains including Bisbee/Canelo Hills/Madera Canyon, Southeast Pinal County including Kearny/Mammoth/OracleThousands of jobs will be opening soon that require important skills in fields like aerospace, advanced manufacturing, and semiconductor chip production.
A class at West-MEC is meeting the needs of Arizona's manufacturing future. Thousands of jobs will be opening soon that require important skills.
"It was just a whole new world that I stepped into," said Lilo Taputu, a West-MEC student. "What we do here with the students is make sure they have a solid foundation before they go into the business so that they would be better trainees and have a better sense of using tools," said Matthew Cotton, an instructor at West-MEC. "It's not just like a small machine that you know automatically. There are procedures, safety cautions.
West-MEC teaches you everything you need to transfer into the real world the next day," Taputu said. Those real-world jobs need to be filled by people who know what they are doing, from aerospace to advanced manufacturing to semiconductor chip production. They designed and created a challenge coin celebrating their class. The class of 2026 is ready to build the future with machines.
"By the end of the year they're making stuff by themselves. Sometimes I let them do their own things on the machines after they get projects done, school work, make their own stuff. They become confident, they go in and they run," Cotton said.
"It was a team of four on each lathe and it was super cool because we all worked together to make it super cool," Casillas said. "I want to be able to provide for a family. Automotive manufacturing doesn't need another two years of a degree. You can go straight into the workforce, which is what I'm planning on doing," Casillas said.
Information in this report was gathered from Lilo Taputu, a West-MEC student; Maxim Casillas, a West-MEC student; and Matthew Cotton, an instructor at West-MEC.
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