“The perception is that the United States doesn’t make anything when the reality is that there are almost 300 manufacturers in Sonoma County,” said Dick Herman, Petaluma resident and president of 101MFG, a private alliance of Northern California manufacturers.

Why is that important news to high school students? Because those companies represent opportunities for jobs.

To connect high school students to careers in manufacturing, involve the school community and develop a skilled workforce for the future, 101MFG created the “100-in-100” job shadowing program with a goal of 100 Sonoma County companies hosting students in job shadows and internships for 100 days.

“During job shadowing, students and employers will get exposure to one another. The employers are going to be pleasantly surprised with how capable the students are. And the students will come away knowing what a business is,” Herman said.

According to research conducted by 101MFG, more than half of the manufacturers in the nine Bay Area counties plan to increase their local production workforce by 15 percent or more. For Sonoma County, that would result in 1,300 new jobs in five years.

Adding to the demand for skilled workers is that almost one-third of the regional manufacturing workforce is nearing retirement age.

“I knew experientially that there was an issue with the future workforce and the research quantified how much of a problem and how much of an opportunity there is,” Herman said. “Manufacturers need to make an outreach to the best and brightest students coming up, to develop their ‘farm teams’ to use a sports analogy.”

Herman found support for offering the program to Sonoma County high schools at the Sonoma County Office of Education. They recognized that students need to be engaged about manufacturing as they are determining their career paths. “The biggest hurdle is kids – and sometimes even school counselors – not knowing about manufacturing,” said Herman.

The 100-in-100 program is currently taking applications from high school juniors and seniors for job shadowing in February and March. To date, almost 50 Sonoma County manufacturers including Labcon, Triformix, Agilent Technologies, PNI Sensor, Bijan’s Protective Equipment and SRC Cables have signed up to participate in the program.

The program offers students two selection tracks: trade; and two-to-four year technical or college prep/engineering and science. Herman says there is significant demand in both areas.

“Many manufacturers are seeking workers with a specific skill set such as mechanical or electrical with hands-on experience. Employers want people who can touch a machine and diagnose it,” Herman said.

For students studying science and math, “There are probably more software jobs in Northern California working for manufacturers than in traditional software companies,” Herman said. He adds that English, communication and finance majors also should consider the opportunities offered at manufacturing companies.

In a limited number of cases, students will have the chance to work on a short-term unpaid project that matches their career track. Herman says that a select number of students may even have an opportunity to work in a paid summer internship.

The shadowing program came out of Herman’s work with Dan Sunia, chairman of the industrial technology department at Petaluma High School and president of California Tooling and Machining Apprenticeship Association.

“CTMAA is a model for career tech training and I am a big supporter of that program. Dan had a state grant to research the need for shop classes in California. I extended the research to survey Bay Area manufacturers. When you look at the national and Sonoma County numbers, manufacturing is the bright spot.”

SOURCE: petaluma360.com