By: Prince Herdle
On May 29, 2013 students and parents of Marian University’s
Upward Bound Science and Math (UBMS) Program attended a presentation by Jim Cleveland
the keynote speaker who serves as the Director of Educational programs at Fond
du Lac Association of Commerce.
Students ranging from grades 9 through 12 were all ears for
this presentation on the vast opportunities that exist in careers in
manufacturing. Adding 17 years of working in finance and 6 years in commerce,
Cleveland has come to know the industry inside and out.
That night Cleveland demonstrated the nation’s needs for a
high skilled work force through recent statistics. It became clear to parents
and students that there is a growing demand but just not enough supply in terms
of educated manufacturing employees.
Cleveland explained of how the 2008 recession caused a surge
of early retirements in the baby boomer generation, resulting in a continuously
increasing lack of skilled workers to replace them. A 2011 study by the Fond du
Lac Area Association of Commerce reveals that 35% of workers plan to retire in
the next 10 years and 51.1% over the next 15 years. Historically 33% has been
the most to retire in a 15 year period.
Science, technology, engineering and math skills were the
focus point of the night. Cleveland
believes that through Marian University’s UBMS program young people can gain
the skills and college preparation necessary to fill the gaps in the workforce.
Due to the overwhelming loss of workers and the shift in the
types of skills needed to fill these positions, companies in the Fond du Lac
community are in desperate need of college graduates with science and math
related backgrounds. With a lack of qualified Americans to fill these vacancies,
companies will be left with no other choice than seek individuals from outside
the country.
Wisconsin, as the second biggest manufacturing state, stands
to take the biggest blow from the loss of workers. With 16% of its workforce in
manufacturing Wisconsin leads the Nation in revenue from goods exported with
20.7 billion annually. In Fond du Lac County manufacturing jobs make up 20% of
the employment base and 26.6% percent of total payroll.
The main message to Marian University’s UBMS students was to
invest in the future so that they may be part of it. From everything that
Cleveland revealed, it is clear that if the young people of today are to be the
engineers, marketers, graphic designers, Information technology specialists,
financiers and healthcare professionals of the future they will need to invest
in at the very minimum a four year college degree to do so.
In response to the workforce’s new demands, Marian
University’s UBMS program has positioned itself to prepare students for a
successful future. Through a variety of services including college level
guidance and training in science and math, academic support and counseling,
college admission preparation and career planning, the program provides local students
with exactly what they need to succeed in their future careers.
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