Manufacturing Day Inspires Students

Its goal is to showcase modern manufacturing careers to students, parents, teachers and community leaders around the nation. This series of events allows thousands of companies and educational institutions to open their doors and inspire the next generation to join the manufacturing workforce.

MFG Day is an initiative of The Manufacturing Institute (MI), with the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association (FMA) as a founding partner. The Institute’s core mission is to grow and support the industry’s skilled workers for the advancement of modern manufacturing. It does this through diverse initiatives that support women, veterans, students and workers through skills training programs, community building, and career advancement support.

Manufacturing Day Events

Tom Schroeder, Executive Vice President of Plant Operations and Sourcing at PBC Linear, got things started with a brief conversation on manufacturing with students from Hononegah Community High School District 207 in Rockton, Illinois. Later, Tom was back with Hononegah students to give them an onsite tour of the manufacturing floor and the new technologies being implemented at PBC Linear.

That same week, the Career Education Associates of North Central Illinois (CEANCI) in collaboration with the Rockford Chamber of Commerce sponsored a Manufacturing Day event at Rock Valley College in Belvidere, Illinois. Roughly 200 students from areas within the CEANCI region were able to visit the newly completed Advanced Technology Center (ATC) at Rock Valley College. This state-of-the-art, 77,000 square-foot facility will offer both credit and non-credit programs in CNC Machining, Mechatronics, Truck Driving, and Welding. In a more broader sense, it will become a workforce and economic development engine that helps sustain and grow the manufacturing industry in the Northern Illinois.

During this event, students were exposed to the importance of manufacturing and its career potential. PBC Linear was on hand to showcase how it is building its factory of the future initiative through innovative products and automation solutions. Students could find out more about careers and internships at PBC Linear.

Keynote speaker Jeremy Bout, President and Founder of Edge Factor, was on hand to re-enforce the message that “manufacturers build the world around us, shape the future, and powerfully impact people’s lives.” Edge Factor tackles workforce development by equipping communities, educators, families, and businesses with cinematic edutainment, online learning tools, and soft skills media.

Career Education Associates of North Central Illinois (CEANCI) is a regional grant delivery system that focus on creating quality career and technical education programs for high school students. Located in northern Illinois, CEANCI is one of 56 Education for Employment (EFE) offices located across the state. It is comprised of nine member districts that cover 1,075 square miles and provides support to over 17,000 students in the 9-12 grade range.

Support includes regional career and technical programming among its members, career and technical programming at member high schools. It also collects and reports data to the Illinois State Board of Education, acts as the flow-through of federal and state resources, and markets career and technology education throughout the region. Career and technical programming in the region is provided in the occupational clusters of agriculture, business and information technology, family and consumer sciences, health occupations, and industrial/technical occupations.