JOVANY NEVES INITIALLY felt uneasy about pursuing a career in manufacturing. At first he was among many high school students who believed the industry had a narrow pathway to employment and a low ceiling, not knowing how vast the opportunities really are.
After going through the advanced manufacturing program at William M. Davies Jr. Career and Technical High School in Lincoln and landing a position with local machinery manufacturer Greystone Inc., also in Lincoln, Neves’ career outlook changed completely.
“Showing students that there’s more to a manufacturing career will definitely help students with their careers and garner more interest,” he said.
What initially attracted you to want to work in manufacturing? Seeing how the machines operated and the parts that were made on them during Davies’ open house in the manufacturing program is what attracted me to the world of manufacturing.
How did you get connected with Davies Tech and what training did you receive through the school’s advanced manufacturing program? I connected with Davies through one of the guidance counselors, who came to my middle school talking about the school and all their programs. In the advanced manufacturing program, we’re taught how to: be safe and efficient operators; how to use different types of measuring and inspection tools and equipment; how to read blueprints and [geometric dimensioning and tolerancing]; how to inspect parts; how to operate both manual and [computer numerical control] machines; how to manually code with G-code and how to use computer-aided design software to create toolpaths.
What was the most important skill/aspect you learned at Davies to prepare you for life in the manufacturing sector? The most important aspect that I learned from the Davies advanced manufacturing program [formerly Machine Technology] was how to be versatile and how to thrive in the field of manufacturing so that when you complete the program, you have multiple paths and opportunities in your manufacturing career.
How did the program prepare you for your current job at Greystone? What are your responsibilities at the company? The program instilled work safety, work efficiency and advanced blueprint reading into me more than anything else so that when I completed the program, I would be a reliable and diligent worker.
You started working at Greystone during your senior year at Davies. What sort of on-the-job training did you receive at the company? Since I was a graduate of Davies manufacturing program, I was already well-experienced with the inspection equipment they used and the basics of how machines operate. So, the on-the-job training mainly further improved upon my general understanding of machines and problem-solving skills.
What have you enjoyed the most about working in manufacturing to date? What have been the biggest challenges? What I enjoyed most about being in the manufacturing field is seeing the different types of machines used in the work field and the parts being made in the machines, even more so if I was troubleshooting or working hard on the setup of the machine and getting the operation process to run smoothly. … The biggest challenges I’ve had were trying to find the solution to different problems on the machine, since you could have the same problem on different machines but the same method wouldn’t work or the solution to one could be much easier than another.
Do you think most high school students see manufacturing as a career option? If not, what more could be done to make it a more viable choice for young people? I think most high school students do see manufacturing as a career option, but I believe some are scared away or feel like their career may be one with a low ceiling cap and a narrow pathway because they don’t realize how vast the field really is and how there are multiple directions to go in. I was one of those students at one point in time, so I feel that showing students that there’s more to the manufacturing career will definitely help students with their careers and garner more interest.
