KACC Students Attend 1st Annual Manufacturing Day at KCC
The new Manufacturing and Industrial Technology Center (MITC) at Kankakee Community College was the perfect venue to host a manufacturing day this past Friday.
Considering this was a first-time event, there was a heady array of participants, including representatives from local manufacturing technology companies BASF, CSL Behring, Kmart Distribution Center/Sears Holdings, Nucor, and Peddinghaus. A proper education for todays advanced technology is also a must so Olivet and Southern Illinois University-Carbondale joined KCC to help inform students of the educational pathways available to ensure a bright future.
Instructors from the KCC MITC Center were on hand to aid in a better understanding of the advanced manufacturing programs available in our community. KCC has programs to support training our local workforce in:
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Kankakee Area Career Center (KACC) provided an eager audience of 250 students from 16 area high schools for the speakers and vendors. KACC bussed students from the Welding, Construction, Automotive and Collision technology classes as well as the Drafting + 3D Design program to KCC’s MITC in Kankakee.
Students were introduced to a number of educational pathways for a variety of advanced manufacturing careers. The important component of “What Are Area Businesses Looking For?” was also addressed.
Dean Dawson, Site Reliability Engineer with BASF stated, “Career pathways and processes keep changing. Employers are constantly looking at what they need in a new employee. “It may not be a 4-year degree; it may be a 2-year degree; it may be having the training or experience in a certain skill set to get your foot in the door. Employers can then help employees develop in their career, some even including paid tuition to keep employees on the cutting edge of technology.
Dr. Susan Emmerich, CHEE Director and another keynote speaker helped students broaden their idea of what a good education can look like and the variety of school and training opportunities available to help ensure a bright future. Dr. John Cooper, SIU Advisor agreed, stating “School and career pathways are more abundant today than ever before.”
KACC students appeared delightfully surprised to learn of the many career opportunities, especially the vast amount right here in Kankakee County. Brian Corbett, Environmental, Health and Safety Manager from Peddinghaus Corporation, added, “I always enjoy speaking to students especially since most have no idea what manufacturing is. We’ve found no one wants to be a “worker-bee” any more. What they don’t realize is: Worker-bees can eventually be running the company making a 6-figure salary!”
Several students made positive comments about how much they learned during the event. These ranged from learning about educational opportunities outside of traditional college track; happy to discover there are a lot of ways to become successful, etc. Another student found it encouraging that even if you have struggled in school, with the right training and good work ethic, you can find a career in something you enjoy.
Mark Anderson, Manufacturing Expo Event Coordinator, was excited with the outcome, “It went great and gave us a good foundation to build on.” Mr. Anderson complimented the assistance he received from KACC. As far as our students go, we weren’t surprised to have him say he is very impressed with our KACC students, “They’ve shown real interest and impeccable manners.”