Ten recent high school graduates from across Southern Arizona have completed a five-week career-launch program designed to move Career and Technical Education (CTE) students directly from the classroom into advanced manufacturing careers.
The program, launched and supported by JTED Foundation, was open to CTE students from
Pima JTED member school districts looking for their next step after high school. The cohort
includes graduates of Amphitheater, Vail, Sunnyside, Marana and Sahuarita Unified School
Districts. Participants represent CTE programs including precision manufacturing, automotive,
welding, construction, law and public safety, and business management.
The Summer Bridge Program was built to give CTE alumni a direct, supported pathway from
high school CTE training into the manufacturing workforce, combining wraparound support
services, college coursework, and a guaranteed employer interview.

Program Highlights
Over five weeks, participants received:

• A paid stipend for their participation in the program, ensuring the opportunity was accessible regardless of a student’s financial circumstances.
• Wraparound support services, including mock interviews and resume preparation, an orientation to Raytheon’s workplace policies and procedures, a structured opportunity to meet current Raytheon employees working in the Manufacturing Technician role.
• Two courses at Pima Community College (PCC) AIT 135 and AIT 235 give students hands-on, foundational training in electronics assembly, from basic safety and tool use to soldering, wiring and building electronic components.
• A guaranteed interview with Raytheon for a Manufacturing Technician position. Participants are not guaranteed a job, but they are guaranteed an interview upon successful completion of the program. The entry level position has clearly articulated upward career pathways and includes access to Raytheon’s employee benefits and tuition reimbursement program for employees who want to pursue additional postsecondary education while they work.

An Adaptable Model for Workforce Development

The program reflects a scalable, replicable, and adaptable solution to connecting students to
resources and employment opportunities in the community. The proof-of-concept model that
can be adapted to other positions, employers or industries.
“The purpose of the JTED Foundation is to increase the success of CTE programs, teachers,
and students across our region,” said Merrill Kemp-Wilcox, the Executive Director of the JTED
Foundation. “And the measure of success of our students is not how they do in our classes, but
how they do afterwards when they’re out of our schoolhouses and out of our reach.” For that
reason, Kemp-Wilcox said, “True success can only be built with partnership.”
Students who complete CTE programs through the Pima JTED district and the 14 member K12
districts it serves graduate high school at 96% according to the Arizona Department of
Education. In contrast, the average graduation rate for a student in Pima County is 73.2%. “We
know that CTE students are more likely to succeed at school and after graduation than their
peers, but even for them, the transition from school to whatever comes next can be fraught,”
said Kemp-Wilcox.
The Summer Bridge Program was built to navigate that transition. The JTED Foundation
recruited recent CTE graduates to apply to the program and provided a paid stipend for their
attendance and participation. Raytheon, an RTX business, selected the PCC courses that would
give an applicant enough technical skills to merit an interview for the position the program
targets. Selected students applied through the college, and their tuition and fees were paid by
Raytheon. Raytheon and PCC worked together to develop the wraparound support
components to help the students along the way.
“All of the ingredients were already there for the success of this model,” said Greg Wilson, Dean
of Applied Technology at PCC. “The college has the right classes, the student resources and
support services. Raytheon has an HR team ready to do orientation and coach people through
their processes. And JTED has this deep bench of CTE students who have the skills and
motivation to really take advantage of this opportunity.”
All 10 of the original cohort made it successfully through the program, which guaranteed them
the opportunity to interview. The wraparound supports embedded in the program, from mock
interviews to resume coaching to orientation on workplace expectations, were designed to close the gaps that often keep capable young people from landing their first job in a field like
advanced manufacturing, even when they have the technical skills for it.
“These graduates worked hard, showed commitment and proved that with the right training and
support, local talent can step directly into high-impact roles in advanced manufacturing,” said
Adrian Verduzco, vice president of Capacity Growth Office, Manufacturing and Quality at
Raytheon. “This program is an investment in our community. By working together with Pima
JTED and Pima Community College, we’ve created a model that supports students, strengthens
local industry and builds the next generation of skilled manufacturing professionals.”
“I didn’t really have a plan after high school,” said Joshua Denton, one of the participants and a
recent graduate of Desert View High School, “and now I have a career. I can’t wait to get to
work.”