Inspiring the Next Generation: Manufacturing Day Opens Doors

November 4, 2019

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On Friday, October 4th, America celebrated National Manufacturing Day. Manufacturing Day is a celebration of modern-day manufacturing, meant to inspire the next generation of manufacturers. Here in Lane County, regional partners including Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership (OMEP), Connected Lane County, Lane Workforce Partnership, Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, came together to offer over 150 students from around Lane County an opportunity to tour food production, wood products, and advanced manufacturing facilities.

Tours exposed students to the people, processes, and products produced in our local market. Students were onsite, learning firsthand about manufacturing in Springfield and Eugene, career opportunities, and desired skills of these employers.

The Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce supports workforce and talent development efforts through our #WorkReady initiative. Cultivating a local pool of qualified talent for our employers looking to fill high wage, high demand jobs is a priority for the Chamber. Our large manufacturing organizations in Lane County are some of the primary contributors to the traded sector economy. Manufacturing Day is a great opportunity for them to showcase what manufacturing jobs look like today! Thank you to the companies that hosted our students, to our partner organizations who planned this day, and to our MFG Day sponsors!