Jay fortunate to offer opportunities

To the editor:

Jay County High School, John Jay Center for Learning, several local manufacturers and Jay County Development Corporation came together to organize Manufacturing Day activities to coincide with the nationwide “MFG Day” on Oct. 4.

First held in 2012 by its founder, the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, International, MFG Day is now organized by The Manufacturing Institute — the education and workforce partner of the National Association of Manufacturers. The kick-off events around the country give manufacturers the opportunity to address the skills gaps they face, connect with future generations, take charge of the public image of manufacturing and ensure the ongoing prosperity of the industry as a whole.

According to Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute, a projected 4.6 million manufacturing jobs across the country will need to be filled in the coming decade. Of those, 2.4 million are expected to go unfilled due to the skills gap. The costs of this potential catastrophe could be staggering.

In an effort to avoid this looming situation, we are constantly on the lookout for ways to highlight the importance and benefits of manufacturing. Gaining firsthand knowledge of today’s manufacturing sector can help shake the stigma that can sometimes be associated with the careers in the field.

For this year’s activities, eight local manufacturers — Coca-Cola Bottling, FCC (Indiana), Fort Recovery Industries, Inc., MSSL Wiring Systems, POET Biorefining, Sonoco, TLS by Design Custom Furniture, and Tyson Foods Inc. — representing a variety of industries hosted tours for over 70 Jay County High School students. In addition to hosting, these companies provided funding for MFG Day shirts and lunch for the students. Many also sent gifts and mementos along with the students.

These local manufacturers took the opportunity to showcase their operations and demonstrate to the students that there are many rewarding opportunities in the field. I personally joined four of the 16 tours and was impressed at the level of excitement and professionalism displayed by our manufacturing community. What also impressed me is the magnitude of opportunity we have in our community. Person after person explained to the students how they started in one position and moved up through the company to positions with more responsibility and more rewards.

In addition to recognizing that manufacturing can be a great career path, students learned that it is necessary to gain an array of skills for today’s high-tech industries. They had the opportunity to check out the industrial maintenance training labs at John Jay Center for Learning. This program is popular among the local manufacturers and used by many of them to upskill their workforce.

No doubt, this year’s event was a success. I would like to express Jay County Development Corporation’s appreciation to everyone for their efforts:

•All eight manufacturers for taking time out of their schedule to share with the students and providing funding for lunch and t-shirts

•John Jay Center for Learning for hosting the lunch and allowing tours of the industrial maintenance training labs

•Jay School Corporation for permitting the students to go on the trip, providing transportation and chaperoning

•Jay County Commissioners for proclaiming Oct. 4 as Manufacturing Day in Jay County

•T-Flyerz for making the students’ shirts

•WPGW for interviewing students on Manufacturing Day

•Kyle Love, advanced manufacturing / PLTW engineering teacher and JCHS/JCMS robotics voach for coordinating the events with the high school

Jay County is fortunate to have a range of career opportunities, teachers that are willing to push students towards success and local manufacturers that are heavily invested in and committed to our community.

For pictures and more information about our local Manufacturing Day, check out Jay County Development’s website: jaycountydevelopment.org/jay-county-celebrates-manufacturing-day.

Thank you,

Travis Richards

Executive director

Jay County Development Corporation