On Thursday, Oct. 2 at Bristol Central High School, the Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce, New England Spring and Metalstamping Association (NESMA), Main Street Community Foundation and the Bristol Board of Education are hosting a manufacturing careers forum for high school students and the general public from Bristol, Wolcott, Burlington, Harwinton, Southington, Plainville, Farmington and Terryville.
This program is an initiative of the newly formed Bristol Technical Advisory Board, which is comprised of local community, business and education leaders committed to expanding awareness of career opportunities in our technically based workforce.
The program for high school students will take place from 9 to 11:30 a.m. and the program for parents and the community-at-large will take place from 6:30 to 9 p.m. The event will consist of a presentation of the movie, “Made in America,” a film documenting the rebirth of American manufacturing and its effect on the US economy. Immediately following the film, the audience will have an opportunity to direct questions to a panel of local business leaders representing different manufacturing and industrial sectors. This panel will cover the growth of 21st Century manufacturing in our region, debunk the myths surrounding this industry; showcase and raise awareness of current and future employment opportunities, and provide an overview of future employment opportunities. The forum will also provide information on local training programs.
In 2014, a press release from the Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce reported, manufacturing posted close to 21,000 job openings in Connecticut. Once coined as “dirty, dark and dangerous,” today’s manufacturing environments are high-tech state-of-the-art facilities. The motivation behind this community collaboration is to ensure we educate and develop a workforce capable of meeting the demands of this vital sector of our economy.
The focus of this forum is to inform high school students, educators, parents and the local community on the diverse employment opportunities in the manufacturing sector. The press release said it is a great opportunity for anyone interested in careers in the trades, business, finance, engineering, technology, marketing, and/or entrepreneurships, to learn firsthand about the opportunities 21st Century manufacturing offers as well as how local business leaders built their companies to the successes they are today.
The release explained American made products have a huge impact on our economy and due to the expansion of manufacturing locally, regionally and nationally, educators need to bring these opportunities to the forefront of their discussions with students and introduce them to the rewarding and lucrative careers that are available and what skills, education and/or training are needed.
“The Bristol Board of Education, Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce, Main Street Community Foundation, NESMA, and the Bristol Technical Advisory Council are committed to broadening the awareness about next generation manufacturing and encouraging students and other groups such as young adult and returning veterans to look at employment opportunities and high-paying careers available in the clean, exciting high-tech manufacturing companies across our region,” said the news release.
For more information, call the Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce at (860)584-4718 or info@centralctchamber.org.
