MFG Day 2020 Will Focus on Virtual Events, Expanding Access
On Oct. 2, 2014, President Obama declared the first official National Manufacturing Day.
Held the first Friday of every October, National Manufacturing Day (MFG Day) features a variety of events designed to help young people explore career opportunities in manufacturing. Each year, thousands of companies around the country open their doors to students, parents, teachers, and community leaders.
MFG Day empowers manufacturers to address collective challenges to help future generations thrive. This year's events will be virtual. However, our goal remains the same: to open doors and encourage students of all backgrounds to discover a rewarding career in manufacturing.
At ControlTek, we're dedicated to helping young people gain experience that leads to successful careers. We have participated in the Multiple Engineering Cooperative Program for several years. MECOP began in 1978 and today partners with educational institutions across the state including Oregon State University (OSU), Portland State University (PSU), University of Portland (UP), and the Oregon Institute of Technology (Oregon Tech). Its purpose was to create top tier engineering graduates and to bridge academic theory with industrial reality. Today, you'll find MECOP graduates in exciting roles at many leading manufacturing companies, including ControlTek.
Link: Learn more about MECOP.
Building a More Diverse Workforce
Like other industries, there is still progress to be made when it comes to representation in manufacturing. Removing barriers and expanding representation is an important industry-wide initiative. To encourage greater diversity and inclusion in the program, MECOP recently created a Diversity Task Force. ControlTek Principal Stacey LaFrazia Smith joined the task force, which will create strategies to reach out to STEM programs at the high school level.
With a culturally diverse workforce at all levels of the organization, from entry-level workers to supervisors, management, and ownership, ControlTek understands the benefits of representation.
“A diverse workforce brings together people of different backgrounds and experiences,” said LaFrazia Smith. “By increasing the collective experiences of a workforce, you increase the ability to make better decisions. That leads to improved results for the organization.”
MFG Day is an initiative of The Manufacturing Institute. The Institute’s initiatives support women, veterans, students and workers with training programs and community building that supports careers in manufacturing.
To learn more visit https://creatorswanted.org/.
