TEXARKANA, Ark. (AP) - About 800 eighth-graders got a peek at advanced technologies, state-of-the-art facilities and fast-paced work environments on Tuesday thanks to the Texarkana, Arkansas, Cooper Tire Dream Team.
The Cooper Tire Manufacturing Experience is a two-day demonstration at Texarkana Convention Center on South Cowhorn Creek Loop, reports the Texarkana Gazette (https://bit.ly/1hXZm2H ).
Students learned Tuesday how to measure and place building components, visually inspect products and use hand tools, said Brenda Harmon, chief human resources officer for Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.
Cooper Tire has joined the Manufacturing Institute’s “Dream It. Do It.” initiative, a network of companies and organizations throughout the United States that shares the goal of enhancing the image of manufacturing careers.
“This is a great opportunity, and we hope it sparks interest in manufacturing and to set a path to a career,” said Darin Hefner, a tire engineer at Cooper Tire’s Texarkana, Arkansas, plant. “The program offers a plant experience to show what it takes to build a tire and to understand manufacturing.”
Hefner, a mechanical engineer who graduated from Ohio Northern University in Ada, works in the tech department designing and testing tires.
“I always wanted to work in manufacturing,” he said.
Hefner worked at a Chrysler assembly plant, but moved to Texarkana in 2010 after he heard about a job opening. “I’ve been in the South for five years, and I love it,” he said.
Manufacturing is key to continued growth
“Manufacturing is the backbone of our economy, and we all should be concerned about the supply of future talent with the desire and capability to make the products that keep our economy strong,” Harmon said. “It’s not just that demographics are working against us - we also have a generation of young people who have been steered away from manufacturing or at least not encouraged to explore good jobs in manufacturing that may or may not require a college or technical degree.”
Hundreds of such jobs go unfilled as a result, she said, and some young people end up with a lot of college debt and not enough income.
“We have jobs for those with a good work ethic and a desire to learn - with or without a college degree - and we must be working with parents, educators and community leaders to help students understand the wide range of opportunities that exist within Cooper and manufacturing in general,” Harmon said. “If we want students to think about a career in manufacturing, we need to help them understand how exciting and technology-driven today’s manufacturing industry really is.”
For Cooper’s first year of involvement in the initiative, the company will focus its efforts in U.S. communities where it operates tire manufacturing plants.
Cooper has appointed a Dream Team of about 25 employees in a variety of positions in these plants and at corporate headquarters and technical centers, also in Findlay, Ohio. Throughout the year, the team will hold programs including children’s mentoring efforts; teaching in middle schools using interactive, manufacturing-related curriculum; and engaging in a number of other community-based efforts such as fairs and speaking engagements to drive awareness about manufacturing careers.
“Today’s manufacturing is about advanced technologies, state-of-the-art facilities and fast-paced work environments,” Harmon said. “But most of all, manufacturing is about those people who like to see the product of a hard day’s work.
“However, this is not the impression of manufacturing that is held by many Americans today. Only 35 percent of parents say they would encourage their children to pursue careers in manufacturing, despite the advanced skills and high pay that are characteristic of work in today’s advanced manufacturing industry,” said Harmon, who added that many view the industry based on the reality of manufacturing a generation ago, not the career field as it exists today.
Texarkana Middle School math teacher Krystal Willis, a sponsor for the REACH program (Rigor Encourages Academic and Career Heights), said the demonstration shows students the potential for good-paying jobs. Her husband, Michael Willis, works in several fields at the Texarkana Cooper Tire plant.
“This is a good program, because the students may not have the resources at home to know about the career paths,” Willis said. “This shows students you can have a career in manufacturing to get bigger bang for your buck.”
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Information from: Texarkana Gazette, https://www.texarkanagazette.com
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