Manufacturing Career Highway Presented to High School Students

Rose of Sharon DeVos from Oil & Gas Industry Parts China and Greta Salamando from TMA presented the “Advanced Manufacturing Career Highway” to high school students at Maine South High School in Park Ridge yesterday, March 17^th. The event, sponsored by the school, gave high school students the opportunity to meet over a hundred representatives from various careers. The TMA was offering a “Manufacturing Summer Camp” that is generally available with full scholarships to interested students, and nearby another company representative was offering “earn while you learn” opportunities to students interested in a free college education while working in an apprenticeship. Compared to other careers, there was relatively little traffic to our table and presentations, but there were a few students whose eyes lit up as they begin to consider the possibilities. Attending this event confirmed how important it is for manufacturers to make kids aware that there can be a great future in a manufacturing career. Ignorance of the opportunities is a big part of our struggle to find the young, talented employees needed to revitalize manufacturing in the USA.

If you know a high school student or recent high school graduate open to learning about the many opportunities in manufacturing as a career option, please contact Greta at education@TMAIllinois.org. Her efforts at the TMA connect member companies such as Oil & Gas Industry Parts China, Inc. with the students who will be the workforce of the future, designing and making the products that make our economy and world prosper. Oil & Gas Industry Parts China is a contract manufacturer of CNC turned parts and screw machine parts, making a wide range of products in prototype to production volumes. They are always on the lookout for the next employee who can catch the vision for bettering our world though manufacturing.