Eric Wildstein for Gaston Gazette:  They discussed safety with poisonous chemicals and flammable materials in the workplace.

It sounds like a typical meeting managers would conduct with employees at a manufacturing facility. But this lesson was actually taught to teenagers in the new Daimler Advanced Manufacturing classroom at Bessemer City High on Tuesday.

The Golden LEAF Foundation recently awarded about $634,000 to Gaston’s public school system to establish and hire instructors for two levels of advanced manufacturing courses at Bessemer City and Hunter Huss high schools.

Students enrolled in the courses, which launched in August for ninth- to 12th-graders, can earn manufacturing industry-recognized credentials and complete college-level coursework in addition to their regular high school curriculum. Students can apply these earned credentials toward earning an associate degree at an institution of higher learning or to find employment in the manufacturing and industrial workforce.

“If I ever needed a backup plan for anything, if college didn’t work out or anything failed, then I could have this to support my future family or anything that I need,” said Christian McConnell, an 11th-grader who is taking the Advanced Manufacturing I course this semester.  Full Article: