In honor of National Manufacturing Day, Cadet was pleased to attend the Columbia-Willamette Manufacturing Workforce Summit on October 4, 2013. Despite high unemployment, manufacturers still struggle to find qualified local workers. It is estimated that over the next decade, the manufacturing sector in our region will need to replace more than 30,000 workers. In order to address these challenges, the Columbia-Willamette Workforce Collaborative was created to combine the efforts of the public and private sectors together to have a meaningful and sustainable impact to the industry. Under the guidance of local companies, the collaborative has created and begun implementing a three point plan.
1. Build a labor pipeline by attracting interested, committed youth
First, the plan will create manufacturing related learning experiences, support manufacturing internships, and offer skill certifications through High School, Technical Schools and Community Colleges. In addition, it will create an advisory that will allow manufacturing companies to influence Career Technical Education programs.
2. Find work-ready candidates now
Second, the plan will create a certified work-ready workforce, establish a hiring pool of qualified candidates and create a tool for quality assurance and continuous improvement.
3. Strengthen the manufacturing community
Third, the plan will create opportunities for CI training accessible to small manufacturers and sponsor a wide variety of training and coaching services for manufacturers. Cadet is excited to work with the Columbia-Willamette Workforce Collaborative to make this program a success. For more information, visit www.workforcecollaborative.org/.
