Youngsters to learn of potential futures from Career Center, area employers

Children love to talk about what they want to be when they grow up. As they age into young adults, they begin to consider more seriously what careers their futures hold.

And on Tuesday, nearly 200 eighth- and ninth-grade students from area schools will come together at the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center to explore their options in the field of manufacturing at an event celebrating Manufacturing Day 2016.

The national event is meant to dispel myths about the industry and showcase careers in the field.

Participating companies will bring interactive displays to illustrate to students about what their business does and the types of skills needed to work there.

Tours of Cape Career and Technology's Manufacturing Skills Training Labs, video presentations and robotics demonstrations also will be a part of the day.

Manufacturing is one of Southeast Missouri's top industries, said June O'Dell, president and COO of the Workforce Development Board of Southeast Missouri. And those employers are in need of skilled workers to fill positions, particularly as the older generation of workers prepare to retire.

In some cases, O'Dell said, businesses are set to see 30 percent of their workforce retire within a matter of years.

"That's huge," O'Dell said.

O'Dell said there are misconceptions about manufacturing jobs: They're dirty. They don't pay well. And because many don't require a four-year degree, they don't require much intelligence.

Nothing could be further from the truth, she said.

"These people don't work for minimum wage," O'Dell said, and many make considerably more than some careers that require a four-year degree.

Technology used in the manufacturing industry is complex and requires training. Employers, she said, are looking for skilled workers with an aptitude to learn and use the equipment.

Public schools in Cape Girardeau and Jackson recognize manufacturing careers as a viable option for their students, which is why they are sending students from their junior-high schools to learn about the potential options awaiting them.

"We start them pretty early thinking about it," said Julie Janzow, eighth-grade counselor at Cape Girardeau Central Junior High. Students there are encouraged to consider their post-high-school career early, from technical training to college education spanning two to 12 years.

"In our community, we have so many different options available," Janzow said, and before students graduate to the high school, she said, they have a six-year plan partially in place.

"It's really never too early to make a plan," Jackson Junior High School counselor Sara Pylate said.

The ninth-graders attending Manufacturing Day are enrolled in the school's industrial technology class and are spending a year gaining skills in computer-aided drafting, construction and welding.

"That field of study goes hand-in-hand with a career in manufacturing," Pylate said.

Pylate said by eighth and ninth grade, students often have a strong understanding of their goals.

"They maybe don't have their decision made and final, but the way they're already thinking about it in eighth grade is really fun to watch," Pylate said, "because they're realizing it's important for them to think about."

Students will take part in Manufacturing Day in the morning and early afternoon Tuesday. But from 2 to 4 p.m., the event will be open to the public to learn what goes on inside the manufacturing facilities in the region.

Participating businesses include Buzzi Unicem USA, Havco Wood Products, Link Electronics, Mondi Jackson, Major Custom Cable, Rubbermaid, Schaefer's Electrical Enclosures Inc. and Signature Packaging & Paper.

For those interested in careers in the field, O'Dell said of the exhibitors: "I think pretty much all of them have openings, and people need to bring resumes if they're interested."

bbrown@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address:

1080 S. Silver Springs Rd., Cape Girardeau