KALAMAZOO – Manufacturers that need a qualified workforce and the high school counselors who have contact with their first line of supply ? their students ? will interact on April 19 at the KVCC Michigan Technical Education Center (M-TEC).
The presentations and discussions, which will begin at 7:30 a.m are open to manufacturers and counselors of high schools throughout Southwest Michigan.
?The demographics are telling the story,? said Kathy Johnson, who is coordinating the event for M-TEC in conjunction with the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency?s (K-RESA) Education for Employment consortium and Southwest Michigan First. ?The skilled workforce is aging, and birth rates are showing fewer young people in line to take their place.?
That means a long-term labor shortage and a marketplace where manufacturing will have an even smaller pool of worker prospects from which to choose.
?There is an inaccurate and outdated image of manufacturing in the market,? she said. ?It is not the Dark Ages and sweat shops anymore. Manufacturing is innovative, high tech and highly skilled. It is an exciting, well-paying, reliable career to pursue.?
Jill Bland, vice president for business services for Southwest Michigan First agrees. ?Manufacturing today is too often considered a part of the ?old economy,? and no longer relevant to our technology-based economic future,? Bland said. ?But nothing could be further from the truth. Innovation in manufacturing has led to significant advancements in technology that have improved both the quality and standard features of just about every product we use today. We tend to take this technology for granted and forget that behind the scenes there are companies working to make our televisions smarter, our cars safer and our cell phones more reliable.?
The idea for a dialogue surfaced from a series of meetings the M-TEC has hosted for manufacturers. Participants were urged to list their ongoing concerns about the state?s economic climate and their own business operations. Quality of workers, as well as quantity, rated at the top.
?Students are most influenced by friends and parents,? said Deb Miller, student services administrator at K-RESA. ?But right up there with them are counselors. So we decided to help the manufacturers get their message directly to the counselors.?
At the April 19 gathering, manufacturers will make their points in a panel discussion, answer questions from the counselors, and provide on-site tours. They will also set the stage for the next phase in October.
In the fall, manufacturers will invite both counselors and sophomores to tour their plants and facilities, learn about job opportunities, and see for themselves the technical skills that are required to craft quality products.
?We are hopeful that the 10th-graders will be excited enough to become interested in machining or welding courses,? Miller said, ?and, just as important, to tell their friends.?
Later in 2005, the M-TEC will bring back the manufacturers and help them get better positioned for recruiting efforts. The strategy will culminate with a career fair tentatively planned for February of 2006.
?The workforce shortage is coming,? Johnson said, ?and manufacturers will be scrambling to get their share of the top-notch workforce. We think the counselors can be an effective factor in this recruitment.?
The July 2004 edition of Welding Journal reported that only 12 percent of Michigan?s lost or displaced jobs could be chalked up to what is called ?offshore outsourcing.? Increased manufacturing productivity could more than cancel that.
The conclusion is that a substantial worker shortage in Michigan ultimately poses the greatest threat to the future of the state?s manufacturing competitiveness.
For more information about the April 19 meeting or to register for the event, call Kathy Johnson at (269) 353-1560 or Patricia Wallace at (269) 353-1260 by April 10.
