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Sole Education Grant is Back!

Sole Education Grant

The leading supplier of safety toe footwear is bringing back the Sole Education Grant for a second semester! Three students will be awarded $1000 in exchange for experience, insights, and ideas that will be featured in Saf-Gard’s blog.

After a successful pilot run this summer, where we awarded our first $1,000 grant to our selected student winner, Saf-Gard Safety Shoe Company decided to bring on another group of students, opening up the application nationwide.
The goal of the Sole Education Grant program is to have students explain and apply their growing knowledge of a particular trade industry, making them the experts on their given field of study for the Saf-Gard blog.

What is the Sole Education Grant?

The Sole Education Grant is an industry-based education grant, created for students who are just starting out in their field. Starting on October 14, 2019, Saf-Gard will follow three chosen students through their educational programs in pursuit of a future in their field.

Each week, the students will be asked to write a brief response to an industry-related topic that will not only showcase their knowledge on the subject but their experiences and skills in the field as well. Students will report their findings, which will be uploaded to the Saf-Gard blog.

Responses will be put into a weekly blog series that covers a theme that students are tasked with responding to. Content will be used to pull quotes from for social media as well as educational materials moving forward.

The chosen students will be rewarded for their participation in the program and completion of all 10 assignments with $1000 to help pay for the cost of their education.

Saf-Gard has opened up the application nationwide, giving even more skilled trades students the opportunity to participate in the program.

APPLY FOR THE SOLE EDUCATION GRANT TODAY

Follow along with our students’ progress here.
Learn more about the Generation T movement here.

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Sole Education Week 4: Trends of the Trade

Trends of the trade

Innovation and growth are two things that drive most industries.  Without these two driving forces, a company will find itself slowly fading into obscurity.

This week, we asked Mikayla to give us the lowdown on the latest and greatest technology in the Mechanical Engineering field – check out what she had to share:

Trends of the Trade:

A trending topic in my trade right now is the use of new technology such as Augmented and Virtual Reality. Especially in manufacturing, prototyping, a product can be costly and time-consuming.

Throughout the 00’s technology revolution, we have seen the original desktop computer, the laptop mobile computer, then the mobile phone with the same functions as a computer. This has technological investors asking, what’s next?

Augmented and virtual reality will be able to impact the engineering industry in ways we didn’t think possible.

There is a difference between augmented and virtual reality: virtual reality is when you are placed into the virtual space, whereas augmented reality is when virtual objects are placed into your own space.

Many automotive manufacturers like Volvo Trucks have already invested in virtual and augmented reality to visualize full-scale truck models in 3D CAD software.

With this technology, Volvo trucks can examine designs up close without spending the money to prototype them. Volvo Trucks also utilizes virtual reality for truck driving simulations, to find ways to make the driver more comfortable, as well as test the drivability of a truck before it is manufactured.

With augmented reality, engineers can see the part in front of them in their own space. In manufacturing, a technician could use augmented reality to visualize the assembly and disassembly instructions for a piece of equipment, to perform maintenance, just by scanning a simple bar code.

Follow along with our students’ progress here.
Learn more about the Generation T movement here.

APPLY FOR THE SOLE EDUCATION GRANT TODAY

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Sole Education Week 1: Introduction

Sole Education - Meet the Student

We are thrilled to launch our first-ever Sole Education program! Over the next few months, we will be learning more about our student’s skilled trades program through their experiences and blog entries.

The Sole Education Grant is an industry-based education grant sponsored by Saf-Gard Safety Shoe Company. It is for students who are just starting out in the trades.

Over the next several weeks, we will be working with Mikayla, a rising Mechanical Engineering Technology student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

She will be covering topics related to her industry and hopefully inspire others to learn more about opportunities in the skilled trades as well.

Let’s learn more about her:

“Hey everyone, my name is Mikayla. I grew up in a small town outside of New Haven, CT but moved to Greensboro, NC, with my family in the summer of 2014.Saf-Gard Sole Education Mikayla

I recently received my Associates in Engineering Technology from GTCC, and I will be continuing my education this fall at UNC Charlotte where I plan to earn a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology. With my degree, I plan on making a career for myself in Plastics Technology as a Project Engineer.

While at GTCC, I’ve fallen in love with the world of technology and engineering design. I’ve excelled in courses involving math and science and was praised for my leadership skills during group STEM (short for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) activities.

Outside of school, I am a Mechanical Engineering Intern for Volvo Trucks North America.  I consider myself hardworking, disciplined, and creative when it comes to my education and future career.”

We can’t wait to learn more about Mechanical Engineering this summer with Mikayla, and see what the summer holds!

Follow along with our students’ progress here.
Learn more about the Generation T movement here.

APPLY FOR THE SOLE EDUCATION GRANT TODAY

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Safety Shoes Don’t Just Mean Safety Boots

Article by Emily Bennett

One of the most important things we have to consider when we’re at work is safety. It’s not just our boss’ job to make sure that the workplace is safe and free of any sort of hazard, but it’s also our job as employees to make sure that we’re protecting ourselves and putting our best foot forward (literally).

Depending on the line of work that you’re in, nowadays it’s required that safety footwear is worn in the form of a steel toe, composite toe, or alloy toe boots and shoes to make sure that you’re protected against any type of probable hazard. Lots of times we find ourselves complaining about our safety boots feeling too bulky, too hot on our feet, or just plain uncomfortable. You may not even like the look of your work safety boots just because you don’t like the style.

There happens to be a solution to your problem, and trust us, it’s simpler than you might think…

Why not give a pair of safety shoes a try instead? They give you all the protection that safety boots do and they don’t resemble your typical safety shoe. Here are our top five safety shoe styles that aren’t boots.

  • Keens Atlanta Steel Toe Hiker: This classic looking low-cut hiking shoe is one of our most favored non-boot styles. With its Electrostatic Dissipative (ESD) component to cut down on excess static electricity coupled with its oil and slip resistant outsole and steel toe protection, you’ll be just as protected as you would be in your heavy-duty work boots.

 

  • Skechers Alloy Toe Athletic: In this pair of Skechers you can get the same protection that you get from a safety boot, all while looking sharp on the job. They give you a maximum amount of comfort with their memory-foam insoles, slip-resistant outsoles for messy situations, and are fully decked out in the toe with Aluminum, ready to protect at a moment’s notice.

 

  • Timberland PRO Newbury: This popular women’s style is a great choice when it comes to a nice looking dress safety shoe. It’s built with an alloy toe, made to protect and cut down on excess static electricity with its ESD component, has a slip resistant outsole, and will provide you with maximum comfort throughout the day with its anti-fatigue footbed.

 

  • Rockport Works Steel Toe Sailing Shoe: This pair of shoes is the farthest thing from your regular looking steel-toed shoe. Not only is it strong looking, but it has a slip-resistant sole to it, protects against any type of electrical hazard, and they’re even decked out with steel in the toe to save your foot if something were to happen.

 

  • Dr. Martens Steel Toe Oxford: This popular style of Dr. Martens is a mighty fine choice when you’re looking for a low-cut oxford style safety shoe. On top of it containing the Dr. Martens Air Cushioned sole, it’s also slip resistant and is capable of cutting down on excess static electricity with its ESD component.

So what’s holding you back from a pair of safety toe shoes now? Go ahead and broaden your horizons the next time you go shopping for a new pair of work shoes. You may just find your new favorite pair.

For more information on safety footwear, be sure to check out our website www.safgard.com.