Rick Pearce, president and CEO of the Chamber, said the purpose of the program is to get “educators out of the building” and visit businesses to better understand the “skill sets needed for their students to obtain an entry-level position.”
“They can go back and explain that to the students and start to solve for that,” he said.
Counselors from Middletown High School, Edgewood High School and Summit Academy met Wednesday with representatives from UGN, a manufacturing company in Monroe which makes carpet and other materials for Japanese-made vehicles (Honda, Toyota and Subaru).
Its 541,000-square-foot facility in Monroe has about 400 employees, many of whom entered the workforce after high school and work through the ranks.
Kelly Widmeyer, Middletown High School counselor, said she joined the program “to learn about different opportunities” for students.
“We have a large population that don’t go straight into college or military, so we want to give them opportunities for other things in the area,” Widmeyer said.
Credit: Bryn Dippold
Credit: Bryn Dippold
Danielle Froslear, also a Middletown counselor, said the program also helps them identify what workplaces are looking for so students can be better prepared to be an “ideal candidate” after graduation.
Doug Vanata, VGN plant manager, said the business has a high rate of turnover and is looking for motivated, reliable and communicative workers.
“If they have the right attitude, we can teach the skill set,” Vanata said.
Megan Spanel, another counselor for Middletown High School, said face-to-face communication — like practicing mock interviews — and attendance are big areas of improvement for students.
Now, the counselors said they know they need a greater focus even more on these areas.
“Educators and students need to know that there’s a great deal of opportunity for them with the skills that they can gain through high school and through life, so that they can immediately start in the workforce on June 1 after they (graduate),” Pearce said.
The chamber has hosted two other tours at AMS Parts in October and BlueScope in November.
A final tour will be held in January at Atrium Medical Center.
Tours are focused on human services and resources; industrial, manufacturing and engineering systems; business, marketing and management; and health sciences.
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