When high school students think about the future, many might think about college.
But this program from James City County is working to open more opportunities.
“A lot of times students aren’t even aware these companies are in the community,” said Kathryn Sipes, assistant director in the JCC office of economic development. “They see jobs in the school districts and the normal suspects like police and fire, but there isn’t an opportunity for them to fully understand all the options that exist.”
But the county doesn’t want students interested in jobs just for the opportunities, they are looking ahead at filling a large and pressing workforce gap.
Manufacturing jobs are at an all-time high, with projections of 2.4 million unfilled jobs by 2028, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. Sipes said this will become even more apparent in James City County because it is home to more manufacturing companies than people may realize.
To address the issue, the Association for Manufacturing Excellence started “Manufacturing Day” to help foster student interest in manufacturing careers.
As part of raising awareness for those careers, on Oct. 3 the county will take Williamsburg-James City County students on tours of the following manufacturing companies located in the area:
- Anheuser-Busch
- Ball Corporation
- Coresix Precision Glass
- Nicewood Enterprises
- Owens-Illinois
- Owens & Minor
- Printpack
Counselors, teachers, school board members and county staff will accompany students during the tour and help them learn more about the opportunities in the field.
This will be the sixth year the county has participated in Manufacturing Day and Sipes said interest is growing every year.
The first year there were only about 35 students interested in participating but now the number has grown to approximately 75. To date, more than 500 students have participated in the program.
“If you’ve ever had the opportunity to tour a manufacturer and see a product from beginning to end, you’ll be fascinated,” Sipes said.
Sipes works directly with Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools to plan the tours through the county — she said the district has been encouraging manufacturing jobs in other ways as well.
In addition to more internship opportunities, Sipes said the district turned its College Night, which is where students can learn about different universities, into a College and Career Night.
“It’s not just that the students are exposed,” she said. “But they can learn about opportunities with manufacturing companies that may have lined up with what they were already interested in.”
Manufacturing Day is Oct. 3. To learn more about how to participate, visit James City County online.
