Manufacturing Day at SCC just one element of the college’s overall workforce development efforts

Published: 09/10/2019

On Oct. 1, St. Charles Community College (SCC) will host Manufacturing Day, the region’s largest student manufacturing workforce development event organized by the Grow Manufacturing St. Charles County Committee. The event will allow more than 1000 students to learn about opportunities and careers in manufacturing and tour local facilities to gain firsthand experience, tour local facilities, talk with engineers and designers, and more. Manufacturing Day events are held each year all across North America to expand knowledge about and improve general public perception of manufacturing careers and the value of manufacturing to the American economy.

Manufacturing Day will take place from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 1, at the College Center Building. Participation requires prior registration and students under age 18 must be accompanied by an adult or participate with a school group.

“Manufacturing Day provides a unique opportunity for parents and students to see the many opportunities available to them in manufacturing. There’s a need for skills in chemistry, computer-aided design, welding and machining, but also in management, marketing and finance. There’s literally no end to the varying paths to employment in manufacturing,” said Amanda Sizemore, assistant vice president for corporate & community development at SCC.

Of the top 25 employers in O’Fallon, six are manufacturing based, and in wider St. Charles County manufacturing employs more than 16,000 people and represents over one billion dollars in wages.

True Manufacturing, a leading manufacturer of commercial refrigeration production and a participating partner in the Manufacturing Day event, employs more than 1,000 people and operates a newly designed distribution center in O’Fallon. Another participating company, AR Manufacturing Innovation, is one of Nike’s oldest suppliers of sustainable innovation for the popular Nike Air line of products. Seyer Industries, a local third generation, family owned business who specializes in higher-level assemblies for the aerospace and maritime industries, has been a partner and supporter of St. Charles County Manufacturing Day since its inception. General Motors, one of the industry sponsors, has some 4,000 employees in Wentzville. These companies also work directly with St. Charles Community College to recruit, train and re-train employees for their growing enterprises.

According to Scott Kearns, program specialist for SCC’s Continuing Education Department, “One of SCC’s most popular career tracks is welding. We offer everything from a Basic Welding certificate to a General Technology, Welding A.A.S.  Students also have the opportunity to earn American Welding Society (AWS) certifications in each as part of the curriculum. Students receive training in the latest plasma cutting, welding techniques, and welding technology. We have twice as many prospective students interested as we have room in the program.”

“With programs like these and events like Manufacturing Day,” said Sizemore, “the college is uniquely positioned to help channel interested students not only towards manufacturing, but into other important industries like healthcare, information technology and logistics.”

“St. Charles Community College is a regional leader in workforce training and job certifications, and in addition to working directly with employers to train their workforce with technical skills, SCC provides continuing education programs in management and communication – critical soft skills for career advancement of employees. Manufacturing Day is just one piece of a much wider workforce development effort,” said Sizemore.

At Manufacturing Day, 700+ students will learn what modern manufacturing facilities look like, whatparticipating companies make and who they sell to, the kinds of jobs available and the skills needed for today’s manufacturing jobs. Participating students will take part in:

• Live demos
• Interactive games
• Visits to local manufacturers
• Keynote speakers
• An event T-shirt and complimentary lunch

When:
Oct. 1, 2019
8 a.m.-1 pm: Student Expo & Tours (closed to the public)

Where:
St. Charles Community College
College Center
4601 Mid Rivers Mall Dr
Cottleville, MO 63376

For more information, including registration, interested students, parents, schools and businesses may contact Tammie De Los Santos at 636-922-8342 or tdelossantos@stchas.edu.