FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 29, 2015
Contact:
Jade Cortez
Jade@sahlcomm.com
484-332-8908
Dream It. Do It. PA Kicks Off Year Three of ‘What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?’
MRC Continues Movement to Generate Excitement Over Manufacturing Careers Program Expands Across the State
Greater Lehigh Valley, PA – Thursday, October 29, 2015 – The Manufacturers Resource Center (MRC) is proud to announce the third year of “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?” (WSCM).
Presented by Pennsylvania’s Dream It. Do It. (DIDI PA), the “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?” Student Video Contest gives 8th graders from over 25 school districts in Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon and Schuylkill counties the opportunity to connect directly with local manufacturers, document their experiences and present them in an educational and “cool” way through film media. The contest was created to generate excitement that draws students towards manufacturing career paths. This year, there are 30 student teams partnered with 30 area manufacturing companies. This expansion reflects the tremendous efforts DIDI PA and MRC have put forth in the community.
“We are very pleased to launch WSCM for the its third year here in the Lehigh Valley,” said Jack Pfunder, Executive Director of MRC “The program’s success is spreading across the state of PA and around the country. The program, which promotes STEM education, helps foster a new understanding of opportunities in manufacturing careers. We are very grateful to our teaming partners at PBS39, DaVinci Science Center, and Lehigh Valley Workforce Development Board, who help make this program a success.”
Armed with a GoPro camera, teacher coach, specific guidelines, curiosity and creativity, each team will tour its respective manufacturer’s location and interview employees to gain a primary understanding of that field. The teams will then take their footage and translate what they find to be cool about that manufacturing company or industry into a short video. Training videos that were created last year for educators are Emmy award winning.
“STEM education is important to ensure that all students in Pennsylvania have every opportunity for success,” said Teri Haddad, EdD, VP of production and education for PBS39. “PBS39 is proud to collaborate with Manufacturers Resource Center and local companies who commit time, energy and resources for the success of students.
The students’ video submissions will be posted on DIDI PA’s website and YouTube channel. The videos will be open to the public for voting in mid-February for the Viewer’s Choice Award, and judges will determine best videos in a variety of other categories. At the end of February, students, parents, educators, manufacturing leaders, community sponsors, local legislators and project partners will gather for an award ceremony to announce and acknowledge winning teams. Last year, over 110,000 votes were cast during the three-day period. Last year’s video submissions are available for viewing on DIDI PA’s website.
Northampton Community College works closely with local manufacturers to meet their workforce needs, offering a variety of degree, certificate and diploma programs for students interested in careers in industry. The College leads a group of three community colleges who were awarded a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to create 36 new, redesigned or technology-enhanced training options and to provide job training in healthcare, advanced manufacturing and logistics/transportation. The state-of-the-art equipment in Hartzell Technology Hall gives students the opportunity to become proficient in the latest manufacturing processes.
Prior to the commencement of the video contest, MRC and DIDI PA celebrated Manufacturing Day throughout the month of October to highlight the many benefits of Pennsylvania’s manufacturing industry to its students and residents. In honor of manufacturing, MRC and DIDI PA arranged for 600 high school students to visit 13 manufacturers in the Lehigh Valley.
The two organizations also hosted visits from Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Education, Pedro Rivera and State Congressman, Charlie Dent. The two met with local high school students at these facilities. (Which facilities? Or keep generic?)DIDI PA also announced their Dream Team, a group of young STEM professionals representing the advanced manufacturing industry in Pennsylvania. These members were selected from area companies to share their stories with students in hopes to inspire them to consider careers in manufacturing.
The WSCM campaign was started under DIDI PA, the public platform for the manufacturing career awareness partnership led by MRC. This year partners include PBS 39, GoPro, Lehigh Valley Workforce Development Board, the Da Vinci Science Center and career and technical schools and community colleges in Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties.
Visit dreamitdoitpa.com for more information and resources.
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About “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing”:
“What’s So Cool About Manufacturing” is a student manufacturing video contest for schools in the Lehigh Valley, including schools in Lehigh, Northampton, and Carbon counties presented by Dream It. Do It. Pennsylvania. This contest gives students the opportunity to connect with local manufacturers, document their experiences and present them in an educational and “cool” way. The contest was created to generate excitement that draws students towards manufacturing career paths.
About Dream It. Do It. Pennsylvania:
Dream It. Do It. Pennsylvania is the public brand and platform for the Lehigh Valley Skill Up project. Dream It. Do It. is a national grassroots initiative by The Manufacturing Institute in Washington, D.C. Its purpose is to give community groups access to a national platform that promotes manufacturing careers. Groups in 33 American states have joined the Dream It. Do It. campaign. The Lehigh Valley Skill Up Partnership is the first group in Pennsylvania to participate. The Lehigh Valley Skill Up website at www.dreamitdoitpa.com includes useful information and resources for students, parents, educators, and manufacturers.
About Manufacturers Resource Center:
For 27 years, Manufacturers Resource Center (MRC) has helped small and mid-sized manufacturers become more competitive, adopt lean and agile processes, strategically grow their companies and invest more effectively in their existing human capital. MRC is a nonprofit organization partially funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s NIST-MEP program, as well as the State of Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development. The MRC is dedicated to creating jobs and economic opportunity in eastern Pennsylvania’s Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton, and Schuylkill counties.