Daytona State College’s FAME program hosted a signing ceremony last week at the Advanced Technology College for students who will be part of the program’s fifth cohort.
Florida FAME — a chapter of the nationally recognized Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education based on Toyota’s AMT model — is a partnership between Daytona State College and local manufacturers. The Sunshine Chapter connects students in DSC’s Associate of Science in engineering technology program with high-demand career opportunities in the region. Over five semesters, students split their time between two days in the classroom and three days working with sponsoring companies, earning a salary while they learn.
Industry partners in the fifth cohort include ABB, Ameritech, B. Braun, Blue Origin, Dougherty Manufacturing, Sparton, Teledyne and Thompson Pump.
Graduates of the program earn an Associate of Science degree in engineering technology with a specialization in mechatronics, a nationally recognized FAME AMT certificate, and two years of hands-on experience.
Sarah Dougherty, co-owner, with her husband, of Solace Boats and Dougherty Manufacturing and a former trustee at Daytona State College, told Trade Only Today why she started Florida FAME five years ago.
“Years ago, when my husband, Stephen, owned Everglades Boats, I learned that our high school was not graduating students with the basic skills needed to perform a manufacturing job,” she said. “These young people also needed the money from working, so college wasn’t an option. It became my mission to find a solution to bring kids into manufacturing and help them see all aspects of it, then allow them to make a choice on their career path.
“After years of trying to find a program and support, I founded [Florida] FAME,” she added. “It was quite a process and disrupted by Covid, but we have successfully done four years of this program. As a former trustee at Daytona State College, it worked perfectly to be able to collaborate with industry and the school.”
Dougherty said the national FAME program was started by Toyota in Kentucky and now is a part of the National Association of Manufacturing at the federal level.
“I just signed my third FAME student. I currently have one working, and hired our first one permanently,” Dougherty said. “Tyler Cheatham, our first student, is now enrolled at University of Central Florida in their mechanical engineering program while working full time. We have an amazing group of manufacturers and some stellar students in the program, and we look forward to many more in coming years.”
For more information on Florida FAME, visit the Daytona State College site.
To see the locations of FAME programs, visit the FAME website.
