Local program to address employment gaps in advanced manufacturing industry

Macomb County and its neighboring regions have a rich history in both defense and automotive manufacturing.  But as new automation and robotics technology disrupt those sectors, the area’s economy has shifted from having a traditional blue collar workforce to a “new collar” workforce.  This shift in skillsets – from traditional manufacturing to high tech careers – has created a skills gap that further widens as the workforce chooses other career options outside of STEAM. If not addressed, this gap will create problems in production capabilities and all told, the effect on our economic well-being will be devastating.

To help fill this burgeoning skills gap, Macomb Community College is offering three advanced manufacturing programs in early 2019. The programs – controls technician, maintenance technician and robot technician – are designed to give participating students the training needed to enter the manufacturing industry with no previous experience necessary.

All three programs are noncredit and full time, featuring a combination of classroom education and hands-on experience. The programs run between three and four months long, depending on the focus. Those that successfully complete their program earn a certificate of completion from Macomb, an OSHA 10 card demonstrating the student meets certain OSHA requirements and certification from FANUC, a global supplier of factory automation.  Those that take the controls technician program will also have the opportunity to take the Siemens Mechatronics System Certification Program Level 1 exam. More than 300 employers have hired Macomb students who have successfully completed these programs.

An information session for the maintenance technician and robot technician programs will be held on Jan. 17 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Macomb Community College’s M-TEC (7900 Tank Avenue in Warren).  Those interested in the controls technician program should contact 586.498.4100 in advance of the information session.

The controls technician program will begin Jan. 28, maintenance technician on Feb. 18 and robot technician on March 11. Those who are unemployed may qualify for funding to assist with a portion or all of the cost of tuition. For more information and to register for the information session, go to Macomb.edu/infosession. For additional information on tuition assistance, call 586.498.4100 or email workforcedev@macomb.edu.

Megan Ochmanek is a communications specialist for the Macomb County Department of Planning and Economic Development.

Explore potential career paths with your child this holiday break

Students across Michigan are preparing for the annual winter break period; two weeks off from school where they can relax and recharge while celebrating the holidays. Many will spend the period hanging out with friends, binge watching Netflix and indulging in various sweet treats, but this year, there’s another activity that we advise young people and their parents pursuing. In recognition of December being Michigan Career and Exploration and Awareness Month, we are encouraging all families to discuss jobs and career pathways with their children.

“It’s important students explore careers early and often,” Talent and Economic Development Department of Michigan Interim Director Jeremy Hendges said. “This month is about highlighting the array of resources and opportunities to explore careers before students graduate from high school. But more than that, it’s an opportunity to bring those conversations about career exploration home from the classroom to the holiday dinner table so families and friends can share their experiences with their students, too.”

With more than 811,000 career openings across the state through 2024, Michigan is working to close the talent gap. State leaders believe that talent gap stems from a career awareness gap and counselors, educators, employers and parents all have a role in helping Michigan’s young people explore the hundreds of thousands of high-demand, high-wage careers available in the Great Lakes State.

“Too often, students leave high school without a plan for what’s next and are doing their career exploration in college,” Hendges added. “The more we can help students explore these opportunities earlier, the sooner we can close our talent gap and connect our young people with rewarding, great-paying careers here at home.”

To help parents and families with these conversations, we’ve pulled together several easy-to-use resources that can answer questions, facilitate dialogue and spark inspiration. They include:

• Going-PRO.com: This one-stop online tool provides students and all Michiganders with information on the state’s most high-demand, high-wage career opportunities in the professional trades, including salaries and job growth data, ‘A Day in the Life’ series that highlights professionals in their careers and how they got there and local schools and training facilities to get started in a Professional Trades career.
• Pathfinder: Students can roadmap their career path with the state’s Pathfinder tool that allows them to pick a career field and see, all at once, how to get there from training to full-time career.
• CareerOneStop.org: Families can learn details about any occupation with this resource, including what you might do on the job, how much you might earn and how much education or training you might need.
• MiTalent.org: Michigan Training Connect can assist students in making knowledgeable decisions concerning their professional future and career.
• MiBrightFuture.org: This robust and easy-to-use online system provides Michigan students valuable exposure to the world of work through interactions with real-life professionals, both helping students identify how to get a job they care about and employers find the qualified talent they need.
• Occupational Outlook Handbook: The Bureau of Labor Statistics created the OOH to help young people find career information on duties, education and training, pay and outlook for hundreds of occupations.

By using these resources this holiday season, parents can give their children a leg up when it comes to their future. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comment section below and our Macomb County team would be happy to provide assistance.

Megan Ochmanek is a communications specialist for the Macomb County Department of Planning and Economic Development.

L’Anse Creuse-Pankow receives $1,000 from 2018 MFG Day video contest

Macomb County Executive Mark A. Hackel yesterday announced students from the L’Anse Creuse Frederick V. Pankow Center as the winners of the Manufacturing (MFG) Day 2018 Student Video Challenge. The contest, which coincided with the October 5 celebration of MFG Day in Macomb County, required participants to create a three minute video around the theme “Why should manufacturers get involved in Manufacturing Day?” It also asked for videos to highlight a MFG Day host site company, careers within that company and the overall student experience during the event.

“We asked students to help us create a tool that would promote Manufacturing Day in the future,” said County Executive Hackel. “And the teams that submitted videos did an incredible job. It is clear that they are all talented individuals with bright futures ahead.”

Six videos were submitted by student teams for consideration in the MFG Day Video Challenge. All were reviewed by a panel of judges with experience in the film and video profession. The winner, a video produced by students from the L’Anse Creuse Frederick V. Pankow Center, received high marks for camera techniques, lighting, content, graphics and titles, editing and sound. The team featured Fori Automation as their video’s central focus and included interviews with company leaders and MFG Day attendees. It can be viewed in its entirety here.

“We were so impressed with the L’Anse Creuse Frederick V. Pankow Center team,” said Tom Nahas, a contest judge and owner of Mad Habit Creative. “These students took the competition directive and made it their own by adding creative elements and distinct production abilities to their final video. The end result was a professional and unique marketing tool that will support the county in its mission to make next year’s Manufacturing Day the biggest one yet.”

As the winner of the MFG Day challenge, the Pankow Center team received the contest’s grand prize – $1,000 awarded to their school and $50 in prepaid credit cards for each student participant. Winning students include:

• Jacob Ashba
• Jack Braithwaite
• Lauren Bayless
• Angel Delich

The team was mentored by Michael Kaufman, an instructor with the Pankow Center’s television and broadcast media CTE course offering. During the check presentation to the team, Kaufman noted that the prize money will be used for student experiences like field trips and student scholarships.

To view all the MFG Day Student Video Challenge entries, visit https://www.manufacturemyfuture.com/video-contest. (Pictured above from left to right: Michael Kaufman, Angel Delich, Jacob Ashba, Jack Braithwaite, Lauren Bayless and County Executive Mark A. Hackel).

About MFG Day in Macomb County: Manufacturing Day is a national campaign designed to create awareness about the economic importance of the industry and the interesting and well-paying jobs it provides. Since 2014, more than 10,000 students have participated in Macomb County’s Manufacturing Day through the support of an active planning committee and the generosity of host sites and sponsors. In 2018 alone, 82 tours were given by 72 host companies to 2,400 students from 28 MISD schools. It was the largest ever Manufacturing Day in Macomb County. For more information, visit http://business.macombgov.org/Business-Events-ManufacturingDay.

Megan Ochmanek is a communications specialist for the Macomb County Department of Planning and Economic Development.

The U.S. Army is modernizing. Here’s how local FIRST Robotics students will one day help.

Robots are changing the way we do almost everything. How we shop, receive healthcare, drive – nothing is off the table and a wide range of industries are adapting to keep pace. Perhaps leading the pack is the United States military. All five branches have made technological advancements to better protect the country and its citizens. In particular, the U.S. Army is already employing various robotic and autonomous systems, but it has clearly set a course to do much more.

In March of 2017, the U.S. Army’s Capabilities Integration Center published the first Robotic and Autonomous Systems (RAS) Strategy with a central objective:

“The Army must pursue robotic and autonomous systems capabilities with urgency because adversaries are developing and employing a broad range of advanced robotic and autonomous systems technologies as well as employing new tactics to disrupt U.S. military strengths and exploit perceived weaknesses. Robotic and autonomous systems are increasingly important to ensuring freedom of maneuver and mission accomplishment with the least possible risk to soldiers.”

With that goal in mind, the Association of the U.S. Army recently hosted an Autonomy and Artificial Intelligence Symposium and Exposition in Detroit. The two-day event saw hundreds of military leaders, defense industry representatives and robotics experts gather to showcase how the U.S. Army is developing critical capabilities in robotics, autonomy, machine learning and artificial intelligence. The ultimate goal – provide an open forum for attendees to discuss the Army’s efforts in creating autonomous systems while also providing a platform for industry partners to demonstrate technology breakthroughs that could help the military.

Four Macomb County FIRST Robotics teams took full advantage of that platform. Working with Macomb County Planning and Economic Development, these high school students had access to a special booth on the show floor. Here they demonstrated their engineering and programming skills by driving their custom-built robots and executing challenges. But perhaps more importantly, the space allowed the students to explain their FIRST Robotics program to high-ranking military leaders who had never heard of the organization.

As background, FIRST Robotics is a program that inspires young people to become science and technology leaders by engaging them in mentor-based programs and competitions. These events challenge students to raise funds, design a brand, hone teamwork skills and build and program industrial-size robots that play difficult field games against like-minded competitors. Simply put – it’s training that will build the STEM-ready workforce of tomorrow. These students will one day fill jobs like mechanical engineer or software developer. They will drive innovation and create solutions to problems that we have yet to encounter. They will lead us into the future.

Why would this matter to the U.S. Army? Well, the technological experience and problem solving abilities of FIRST Robotics students will be key to modernizing the military for the 21^st century and beyond. And while the majority of these young people will likely enter the private sector, anything they invent or develop will crossover and be of use to the Army. So having the opportunity to meet these students now, while they are still in high school, can help the military forecast their future. Which is why several leaders visited the Macomb County/FIRST Robotics booth. They engaged the students in conversation, asked questions and inquired about sponsorships and internships. All told, they sparked the beginning of what could be a very mutually beneficial relationship that will help advance the interests of both the FIRST students and the U.S. Army now and well into the future.

Please note: You do not have to be in the military to make a connection with these talented FIRST Robotics students. So if you work for or run a company that would be interested in sponsorship, mentoring, hosting or simply meeting these teams, click here to take the next step. Macomb County Planning and Economic Development will help you reach the right team and build the right relationship.

Thank you to the four FIRST teams that participated at the expo:

• ThunderChickens: Founded 20 years ago, the ThunderChickens are based out of Sterling Heights and the Utica Community Schools. The team, which has more than 100 students, has been to the FIRST Robotics World Championship 17 times, winning the event twice. In 2018, the ThunderChickens were a runner-up.
• Crevolution: Crevolution is a FIRST team, created by The Thunderchickens, consisting of high school students from the Utica Community School district.
• Byting Bulldogs: The Byting Bulldogs are based out of Romeo. The team has 55 student members.
• AM.ROBOT 4810: The I.AM.ROBOT team has 58 members. It was founded seven years ago at the International Academy of Macomb.

 

Megan Ochmanek is a communications specialist for the Macomb County Department of Planning and Economic Development.