October is manufacturing month and this is manufacturing week.
250 high school students throughout the Carl Sandburg College district, who have expressed an interest in the manufacturing industry, were invited to attend an open house last night at the college’s Center for Manufacturing Excellence.
Associate Dean for Career, Health and Technical Education Diana Higgins tells WGIL the open house was for high school students to see,“the different programs that we offer, all of the equipment we have out here and to be able to come through and talk to local business partners about the jobs they offer,” Higgins said.
Pegasus Manufacturing, Schwarz Brothers Manufacturing were both on site to field question.
So was Terry Loughrin, Regional Manager Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center. Loughrin says that in his view manufacturing drives the economy.
“The income levels of people that are in manufacturing are typically higher than the service industry,” Loughrin says. “As manufacturing gets strengthened, so does output that gets generated that drives the economy.”
But Loughrin admits the industry has changed but employees that “never stop learning” are better equipped to endure industry shifts.
