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The Bucyrus Secondary School campus took on the look of a regional hub on Tuesday as more than 30 businesses and organizations gathered for the 2026 Mobile Workforce Day. The event, co-designed with IB Tech, transformed the typical school day for middle schoolers from Bucyrus and Crestline into a practical map of their professional futures.
From a MedFlight helicopter touching down on the lawn to a fleet of service vehicles from the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office and Bucyrus Fire Department, the campus was packed with tangible evidence of the local workforce. Unlike a traditional career fair, the focus here was on direct interaction. Students from the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades spent the day handling equipment, asking questions of industry veterans, and seeing the mechanics of the regional economy up close.
Direct Connections
The initiative is a cornerstone of the district’s “True North” vision, which aims to bridge the gap between classroom theory and career reality. Industry partners ranged from manufacturing giants like IB Tech to skilled trades represented by Laborers’ Local 1216 and Carpenter Union Local 735.
“We believe in investing in our associates at IB Tech, and that includes the future technicians, operators, designers, and administrators who are here in our schools,” said Regina Miller, Human Resource Manager at IB Tech.
Other participating organizations included:
- Vaughn Industries
- TC Energy
- Charles River Laboratories
- Ohio State Highway Patrol
- Nightwatch Aviation
- OSU Mobile Design Lab
Community Investment
The logistics of the day extended beyond the demonstrations. Forge Fire & Company fully sponsored the food truck lunch service, ensuring every student in attendance had access to local vendors at no cost. The gesture served as a reinforcement of the day’s core message: the local business community is actively invested in the success of the next generation of workers.
Navigating the Future
By engaging students at the middle school level, the program aims to build career awareness before students reach the critical decision-making years of high school. As specialized equipment from RNI Inc. and the Humane Society Serving Crawford County was packed up at the end of the afternoon, the takeaway was clear: the path to a career in Crawford County is being paved long before graduation day.
#BucyrusSchools #TrueNorth #CrawfordCounty #WorkforceDevelopment #LocalNews #IBTech #ForgeFireCo
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