SIDNEY — It’s been a big year for Ross Casting and Innovation LLC.

In addition to the 12,000-square-foot Milled from Solid expansion, RCI will complete its pilot year of the RCI Academy, a joint venture with the Sidney-Shelby County Workforce Partnership and Sidney City Schools. The academy is a unique program, according to Sam Ramesh, president of RCI.

“This program is the first of its kind. It prepares students with the skill sets to face the real world, in particular the manufacturing world. When jobs come back to this country we need our next generation of workers to be tech ready. Companies in this region of Ohio will be willing to make additional investments and growth knowing that there young workers ready for the work place,” said Ramesh.

The program enrolls juniors and seniors and provides them the opportunity to learn skill sets including safety, quality control, blueprint reading, statistics and maintenance.

“All of the skill sets learned throughout the year come together in Capstone project. It is a complete learning experience,” said Wayne Thompson, COO of RCI and one of the architects of the program.

RCI officials announced in April that a $1,000 scholarship would be awarded to a Sidney High School graduating senior that participated in the RCI Academy as an elective in the 2015- 16 school year. The scholarship was awarded to Mackenzie Jennings at the Sidney High Senior Awards night, May 12.

“We are pleased with the progress and direction of the Academy,” said HR Manager Candee Esser.

As a commitment to the future students of the Academy, this scholarship will be an annual award. RCI Academy participants will be considered for the scholarship based on volunteer activities within the community, extra-curricular school activities, GPA, and an essay. Students must also plan to attend a two or four college after graduation. RCI is committed to assist educating students and preparing them for the work force.

Also announced, RCI will offer a machine shop position to a student that has attended the RCI Academy. RCI desires to provide job opportunities to graduates of the RCI Academy in skilled machining and technical positions, stated Wayne Thompson, COO. RCI will work with students to transition from job shadowing, to part time position, then a fulltime position after graduation in May 2016. The machine shop position allows the student to apply the fundamentals of safety, quality control, statistics and blueprint reading in a technical application; all components that are briefly introduced in the Academy. Students will learn to operate state of the art CNC equipment, measure part features, and eventually make machine offsets and tool changes.

RCI plans to expand the student experience in the 2016-17 school year by sponsoring two academy students on a trip to India. The students will have the opportunity to tour the group companies of ABI Showatech Inc., the parent company of RCI. All expenses will be paid by RCI.