Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti and SSMMA Executive Director Edward Pasel at Manufacturing Day at Bloom High School in Chicago Heights. Photo courtesy of Evelyn Sanguinetti’s Office.
Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti kicked-off the Calumet Green Manufacturing Partnership’s (CGMP) Manufacturing Day event October 1, 2015 at Bloom High School in Chicago Heights with Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proclamation in support of manufacturing jobs. Sanguinetti was sworn in as Illinois’ 47th Lieutenant Governor earlier this year. She is currently the highest ranking Latina in the history of the state of Illinois.
“Manufacturers are crossing state lines to find skilled workers because there aren’t enough in Illinois,” Sanguinetti said. “Those are our jobs, and we don’t want them leaving our state. Do we?”
Why should students consider manufacturing as an alternative career path?
“Everywhere you walk, there is a form of manufacturing or logistics –from the air ventilation systems we are breathing to the concrete in our sidewalks,” said Luxury Transit Vice President Julio Martinez who accompanied Sanguinetti on the panel of speakers.
The mobile technology that we all hold in our hands is a manufacturing game-changer, certain to amplify manufacturers’ call for a skilled workforce, added another panelist Esther Joy King, Director of Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology at Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
“Graduates from the Steelworkers for the Future Program earn $90,000 annually–more money than I do,” said David Naze, Prairie State College’s Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs.
Other panelists included Robert Greaney of Greaney Associates, LLC; Brian Franks of Northstar Aerospace and Dr. Jun Zhao of Governors State University’s Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship Program. Students Ulises Ramirez, Destinee Moore and Johnny Avila moderated the discussion. State Reps. Anthony DeLuca and Margo McDermed were on hand in support of the occasion.
The event has grown exponentially since it began in 2013 when there were only 30 students from three schools. This year, there were nearly 300 high school students from 19 schools.
Following the panel discussion, students toured assorted manufacturing sites and then continued activities at Prairie State College in Chicago Heights and South Suburban College in Oak Forest.
Tour sites included: Whiting Corporation, Start Tool & Die, Nortrak, Avatar, Anderson Cooper and Brass Company, Bimba, Continental Midland, Sterling Lumber, Universal Metal Hose, Mifab, Best Diamond Plastics, Kocsis Technology, Sciaky, Chicago Magnesium, INX International, Esmark Steel, FH Hayer and Do-Rite Die & Engineering.
Background
Manufacturing Day is a celebration of modern manufacturing meant to inspire the next generation of manufacturers. The event addresses common misperceptions about manufacturing by giving manufacturers an opportunity to open their doors and show, in a coordinated effort, what manufacturing is — and what it isn’t. By working together during and after Manufacturing Day, manufacturers will begin to address the skilled labor shortage they face, connect with future generations, take charge of the public image of manufacturing, and ensure the ongoing prosperity of the whole industry.
The CGMP Manufacturing Day event was held in partnership with the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association, the Chicago Southland Economic Development Corporation, Prairie State College, South Suburban College, OAI, Inc., Bloom High School, Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center (IMEC), the Illinois Network for Advanced Manufacturing (INAM) and the Calumet Green Manufacturing Partnership.
The Calumet Green Manufacturing Partnership (CGMP) is designed to help manufacturing companies located in the Calumet and Southland region of Chicago acquire skilled CNC operators with MSSC and NIMS credentials. CGMP training programs include welding, computerized machine tool operation and programming (CNC machine technology).
More photos are here.
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