Manufacturing Matters day held for students

Students who took part in the Manufacturing Matters day held on Oct. 31 were able to tour McWane Ductile and AK Steel. They are pictured here all dressed up for their McWane Ductile tour. Contributed | Beacon

COSHOCTON – Area high school students got a hands-on look at manufacturing in our community on Oct. 31.

“We capped off Manufacturing Month after highlighting are manufacturing-based businesses with a Manufacturing Matters day for all juniors and undecided seniors,” said Amy Stockdale, director of the Coshocton County Chamber of Commerce.

She worked with the chamber’s business partners, Ohio Means Jobs Coshocton County, COTC Coshocton Campus, the Coshocton County Port Authority, McWane Ductile and AK Steel to organize the day for students from the Coshocton County Career Center, Coshocton High School and River View High School.

“Sherri (Gibson) from Ohio Means Jobs Coshocton County, Tiffany (Swigert) from the port authority and I met with general managers of local businesses here and the overall theme at every place was that they had to have people with employability skills,” Stockdale said. “We honed that down to youth needing to understand that there are manufacturing jobs and that they pay well here in Coshocton County. Employers were looking for us to have work force ready people.”

The students who attended the Manufacturing Matters day started off at the COTC Coshocton Campus. Once there, they were divided into two groups and learned lessons on the hidden rules of employability and what type of programs COTC offers that can help them find well-paying jobs.

“One hundred and thirty-five kids attended and I think it was a very hands-on, eye opening event for them,” Stockdale said. “They got full blown tours of McWane and AK Steel and saw two very different work environments. They were able to talk about things like pay scale and how to make themselves standout on a resume. It was a very hands-on day.”

The day also included lunch, book bags full of swag from COTC and t-shirts celebrating the event.

“This was our first annual Manufacturing Matters day and we would like to see it grow into an even bigger event,” Stockdale said. “The whole day went very smooth and was well organized and that was because of all the partners working together. I think hands-on experience is so important because 17-18 year olds don’t know exactly what they are supposed to be when they become adults.”

Gibson also thought the day was very productive for the students.

“I think it was eye opening for them to hear how people got into their positions at each manufacturing site,” she said. “It’s also encouraging that there are bright young people that are hopefully interested in manufacturing jobs. It was a great day.”

Category: Education