Hopefully, all your shopping is complete for 2020, but let us give you a head start on that holiday wish list for next year: Consider a vibrating pillow designed to give you a better night sleep for a more productive day in front of the computer. While it isn’t actually in production (yet!) this was the winning idea submitted by Ramzi Latreche, a senior at Ygnacio Valley High School in California, for the inaugural Wisecarver Innovation Award student design contest.
At Bishop-Wisecarver, we LOVE celebrating MFGDay! Our team looks forward to it each year and spends months planning new ways to showcase what we do as a motion solutions provider, as well as the opportunities of a manufacturing career. This year was one of our largest events to date. So large in fact, that we ended up hosting two days of events at our facility to accommodate everyone interested and ensure they received a personalized, meaningful experience.
Discussing the myths vs realities of manufacturing is a priority for Bishop-Wisecarver as we know once students better understand the truths of this industry, more of them will choose this career path. From mentoring girls interested in STEM careers to sponsoring robotics groups, the Bishop-Wisecarver team is active in showing the modern, high tech opportunities in manufacturing.
Nearly a year ago, I wrote and recorded a KQED Radio Perspectives program segment entitled “What Manufacturing Needs”. In it, I tried to quickly address the problem of having a strong industry with solid indications of future growth, while projections show we will be short two million manufacturing workers in the next 10 years.
I asked the question: Why is U.S. production so short of these skilled workers?
Bishop-Wisecarver Group is sponsoring four high school groups in the 2017 FIRST competitions. Today, we catch up with three 9th grade members of the TigerBots: Jade Costello, Co-Leader of Build Team, Caitlin Wallace, Build Team Member and Vineela Vandanapu, Programming Team Member. We asked them to give a one word response to each of the terms below followed by a short explanation. Take a few moments to read about the hard work and lessons learned by these incredible students!
Our final in a blog series about Manufacturing Day 2016 features a Q&A with Mark Orcutt, Communications and Outreach Manager of the East Bay Leadership Council (EBLC), who participated in one of the Bishop-Wisecarver Group (BWG) tours. Mark emphasizes that “more than one third of all jobs in the California Bay Area are with businesses who either make or move goods” – and that means manufacturing.
That also means a large number of employment opportunities! Hosting Manufacturing Day is one way BWG works with groups like EBLC to help educate the community on the great career options available locally.
“The most important thing we can do is show young people, teachers and parents what modern manufacturing looks like and introduce them to those working in manufacturing to show the wide range of career paths.” Todd Boppell, Chief Operating Officer, National Association of Manufacturers
This quote summarizes the importance of events like Manufacturing Day and their potential for long-lasting impact. Bishop-Wisecarver hosted two Manufacturing Day events late last year and wanted to share comments from a Q&A we had with Todd Boppell, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).
With a corporate-wide emphasis on supporting STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education efforts, Bishop-Wisecarver Group is active in numerous student-based events both locally and nationally. This past month, we had the unique opportunity of combining some of these efforts and groups in the same place! Discussions of STEM, robots, pirates and tigers were mentioned throughout the day and it wasn’t because Halloween was coming. When BWG opened its doors for the national Manufacturing Day event this year, we welcomed two groups of FIRST robotics teams to our plant. BWG has sponsored both of these teams in their incredible work with the FIRST program and now had the opportunity to enhance their learning in the world of manufacturing.
This year, BWG actually had two Manufacturing Days as there were so many people wanting to attend the tours. We hosted groups on October 7 and October 29 and visitors included high school students from the East Bay and Silicon Valley, national and local manufacturing group officers, elected officials and community members. Sessions included a plant tour, 3D printer demonstration and a panel discussion which included a Q&A with employees.
“This place looks totally different than I expected.”
“I didn’t realize there were so many different types of jobs.”
“That could be my starting salary? No way!”
“There are how many job openings?”
“This is fun. I could do this job.”
These questions and comments could be heard throughout our manufacturing site earlier this month as Bishop-Wisecarver again participated in the national Manufacturing Day (MFG DAY) event.
