To celebrate all things manufacturing during Manufacturing Month, we are helping facilitate numerous events throughout the month of October in the Upper Peninsula. For more information about the events, please see the entries listed by county below.
Heavy Metal Tours 2020 – Dickinson County
The Heavy Metal Tour is an annual event in the Central-Western U.P. that gives school-aged children experiences in Manufacturing.
For more information about this event, please see this blog post.
Organizations involved include Bay College, Dickinson Area Economic Development Alliance, Lake Shore Systems, Verso Quinnesec, Systems Control, and Boss Snowplow.
GOISD Manufacturing Day 2020 – Houghton, Keweenaw, Ontonagon, and Gogebic Counties
Students will use Xello (e.g. career profiles) and Tomorrow’s Talent resources to explore various careers within Manufacturing pathways. An in-school lesson plan will be customized for 8th-grade students and included in the Xello program at their schools. It will build on the Xello lesson plan that they completed in 7th grade. Students will engage with career profiles to complete this exploration.
A manufacturing video the students will be watching will feature ‘Jake’ of Extreme Tool in Wakefield, MI. The video will be shown to students in a classroom setting during one of their career education segments. They will then have a follow-up assignment and a questionnaire to complete on Xello while exploring the Extreme Tool website.
The date and time for the presentation and follow-up have not been decided but it is anticipated to take place in late October. Each school district (6 total) will designate the best time for their 8th grade students to take part.
The objectives for the lesson plan are as follows:
- Students will identify categories of jobs known as manufacturing occupations.
- Students will assess the opportunities and advantages of these types of occupations as viable careers in the current labor market.
- Students will investigate labor market information and demand for occupations in their region.
- Students will explain the career pathway that would lead to a job at Extreme Tool – what training would I need in order to join ‘Jake’ at Extreme Tool.
- Students will describe the difference between a Technical Pathway vs. Leadership Pathway.
The GOISD Manufacturing Day group is coordination between Gogebic Community College, the GOISD (Gogebic-Ontonagon Intermediate School District), Western U.P. MiStem, Northern Initiatives, the Ironwood Chamber of Commerce and U.P. Michigan Works.
Chippewa, Luce, and Mackinac Counties
Three companies have made videos for Michigan Tech University’s (MTU) Tomorrow’s Talent Program which showcase a day in the life of a worker and increases the depth of conversations about the manufacturing field. These videos will be shown at local schools as it fits with their CTE curriculum.
A question-and-answer session will take place after the videos are shown to give the students more details on career exploration. Virtual Talent Tours, as schedules allow, are expected to follow in this region.
The employers involved in making this event happen in this region are Precision Edge, Superior Fabrication, Great Lakes Composites, Cloverland Electric, and Carmeuse
Menominee County
Upper Peninsula Michigan Works! plans to have one of their very own employees host a career exploration activity related to manufacturing in northern Menominee. The activity is expected to take place in mid or late October.
Through career exploration, students and other job seekers gain helpful insight that can prove to be exceptionally beneficial to their job search and career planning.
Delta County
The Delta County Michigan Works! office will be distributing Michigan Tech University’s Tomorrow’s Talent videos to local schools to show in classrooms as it coincides with their curriculum.
Armed with the information these videos provide, students will be better prepared to take on the challenges they may face as they enter the workforce.