MADILL, Oklahoma (KTEN) -- Students have been touring the Oklahoma Steel and Wire manufacturing facility in Madill this week.

"We're celebrating Manufacturing Week," said company spokeswoman Amara Harris. "We've asked a couple of local schools if they want to come out and tour, so we've had a few schools already come out."

Oklahoma Steel and Wire started the in-person tours in 2019, but had to suspend the event for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The response has been good," said Harris. "We've had kids say, 'I didn't realize that we have these opportunities.'"

On Thursday morning, Kingston High School seniors and juniors will take a turn on the tour. Administrators said they're asking all the upperclassmen to attend, saying it's important for students to branch out and get a real life look at different jobs they may not have known about.

"It's just been a good overall experience for them to be able to see that college is an option," said Harris. "But there's other options as well; college isn't for everybody, so we just want kids to know that there's other careers out there for them."

Another hope for the company is to bring on apprenticeships and interns to help students figure out what they want.

"Our apprenticeships, they'll actually pay you to go to school," said Harris. "And then they'll also provide you on-the-job learning, so you're getting your school paid for, and you're also getting paid to learn the things you're going to school for."

Oklahoma Steel and Wire said they've hosted about 500 students this week; Kingston schools said they're sending a little more than 100 for the factory tour.