Sea Ray facility to open doors to students, spotlight careers in manufacturing Jan. 27

Brunswick Boat Group’s local Palm Coast manufacturing facility will participate in the upcoming Classroom to Careers initiative this coming Friday, Jan. 27.

The effort, sponsored by the Flagler County Education Foundation and Flagler County Schools, seeks to provide students with a variety of opportunities to explore careers, especially in industries identified as important to economic development in Flagler County. Partnering with local businesses, Classroom to Careers reaches into every classroom in Flagler County schools from kindergarten through high school, to help better prepare students for college and careers.

BBG’s Palm Coast plant manufactures large pleasure boats, primarily for Sea Ray, and employs about 625 full-time employees. The day begins at 8:30 a.m. at Flagler Palm Coast High School, with the tour scheduled to begin at the plant at 10:30 a.m., followed by lunch and a question-and-answer session later at the high school.

“Our Sea Ray tour guides, who all now hold leadership roles at Palm Coast, have all graduated from surrounding high schools in Flagler, Volusia, and Putnam counties, and started their careers with Sea Ray. They can offer students insights as well as context about career paths in manufacturing due to their experience and accomplishments,” said Kelli Hood, director of human resources at the facility. “The Sea Ray tour is important because it exposes students to good paying jobs in manufacturing that may be often overlooked by students.”

Jayne Fifer from the Volusia Manufacturing Association will present an overview prior to the tour, and counselors from the high school and Flagler Technical Institute will speak to the students during lunch to provide insights and suggestions for various manufacturing career paths.