{"id":99334,"date":"2018-03-01T07:51:15","date_gmt":"2018-03-01T12:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=99334"},"modified":"2018-03-02T09:17:58","modified_gmt":"2018-03-02T14:17:58","slug":"van-wert-seniors-get-opportunity-to-tour-local-companies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2018\/03\/01\/van-wert-seniors-get-opportunity-to-tour-local-companies\/","title":{"rendered":"VWHS seniors take tour of businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"

DAVE MOSIER\/<\/strong>independent editor<\/em><\/p>\n

While sophomores and juniors were taking pre-ACT and ACT tests, respectively, Van Wert High School seniors were touring local businesses to learn what they do — and what they are looking for in future employees.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Troy Miller (right) of Braun Industries provides a group of Van Wert High School seniors information on how the company makes its expensive, high-quality ambulances.<\/strong> Dave Mosier\/Van Wert independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 93 VWHS seniors took one of three tours that included a manufacturing facility and a service or other business. One tour of 22 students visited National Door & Trim and the Van Wert Cooper Foods Cooked Meats facility, another group of 39 students toured Central Mutual Insurance Company and the local Federal-Mogul Corporation plant, while the third tour, which included 32 students, visited Van Wert County Hospital and Braun Industries.<\/p>\n

The tours were set up by Kerry Koontz, VWHS careers counselor, to let seniors know something about how local companies operate and the processes they use to provide services and products.<\/p>\n

At Braun Industries, for example, seniors learned how the company\u2019s high-quality, hand-built ambulances are manufactured. The students first viewed a crash video of Braun ambulances showcasing the vehicles sturdy build qualities, including one where a Braun ambulance flipped over, yet still could be driven away with only minor damage.<\/p>\n

Before students toured the plant, Brian Holbrooks, electrical engineering technician, provided information on how electrical components are designed for Braun\u2019s ambulances, while Joel Fravel, Braun design engineer, talked about the overall design of the vehicles, as well as the many customization options that are the hallmark of the company\u2019s ambulances — the most expensive and well-built in the industry.<\/p>\n

Wendy Cotterman, human resources manager at Braun, also talked about the qualities the company looks for in hiring new employees.<\/p>\n

\u201cAttendance is certainly a priority,\u201d Cotterman said, adding that Braun looks for employees who are responsible and who take the company\u2019s commitment to safety and quality to heart.<\/p>\n

Braun officials also spoke briefly about the company\u2019s recent merger with Canadian ambulance maker Demers Ambulances, the second largest ambulance manufacturer in North America, noting that the merger will likely add jobs at the Van Wert plant, although it\u2019s not certain at this point how many new jobs will be created locally.<\/p>\n

Out in the plant, the students were divided into four groups to tour the plant where the company\u2019s high-quality ambulances are manufactured. The tours took students through the process of building a Braun ambulance from the planning stages through to the time they are driven out the door for destinations that include New Orleans, Boston, and Miami, Florida.<\/p>\n

Koontz talked later Wednesday afternoon about the tour, which he organized to give seniors a learning opportunity while other students were testing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal was (A) every senior had the opportunity to tour a manufacturing facility (Braun, Federal-Mogul, and National Door and Trim) \u2026 and I partnered another business up with them (Central, the hospital, and Cooper Foods),\u201d Koontz explained, noting that most people have no idea of what some local businesses do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI drive by Cooper\u2019s 100 times, but I have no clue when goes on in there,\u201d Koontz said.<\/p>\n

He also noted that he didn\u2019t just want the companies to talk about what they do — although that was important — but what they look for when hiring new employees.<\/p>\n

\"\"
VWHS seniors look at schematic drawings at National Door & Trim<\/strong>. VWCS photo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI need you, as a business, to highlight what skills are needed, what credentials are needed to work in the different areas of your facility: a two-year degree, a four-year degree, a certification,\u201d Koontz explained. \u201cAnd what opportunities are available for students, what are the future demands, what do you look for in hiring an employee.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to information about what each company does, students also learned about the importance of having employability skills: showing up on time, taking initiative, collaboration, communication, and problem solving, for example.<\/p>\n

The careers counselor said it\u2019s crucial to get local students information on local companies, since not all students are planning to, or need to, go to college.<\/p>\n

Koontz said the tours were also a confirmation of Van Wert City Schools\u2019 decision under former superintendent Ken Amstutz to incorporate Project Based Learning in the district curriculum.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a reason that we incorporated Project-Based Learning, because these are soft skills, 21st century learning skills; these are skills needed in today\u2019s workforce and they heard that today,\u201d Koontz said of the company tours.<\/p>\n

Koontz also spoke about VWHS\u2019s new CEO (Career Education Opportunity) program that provides internships to seniors at area businesses.<\/p>\n

He said he was currently gearing up to expand the program to the other two county school districts: Lincolnview and Crestview.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DAVE MOSIER\/independent editor While sophomores and juniors were taking pre-ACT and ACT tests, respectively, Van Wert High School seniors were touring local businesses to learn what they do — and what they are looking for in future employees. The 93 VWHS seniors took one of three tours that included a manufacturing facility and a service […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-02 05:29:20","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99334\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}