Nebraska program promotes manufacturing careers

To forestall an anticipated worker shortage in Nebraska manufacturing, business leaders from Omaha, Lincoln and Columbus announced a program July 9 that promotes manufacturing careers to high school students and young adults.

The program, known as "Dream It Do It," advocates manufacturing jobs as a way for people ages 16 to 26 to match their interests - from music to motorcycles to molecular biology - with their careers.

A new group known as the Nebraska Advanced Manufacturing Coalition launched the campaign, which is slated to begin in September. Dwayne Probyn, formerly director of workforce development at Metropolitan Community College, will become the coalition's executive director.

The campaign will reach out to high school and community college students in the three cities. The Nebraska Advanced Manufacturing Coalition is expected to raise at least $500,000 for the campaign, whose partners are Nebraska manufacturers, and will expand to the rest of the state if the initial launch is successful.

It will follow the model of a $2.5 million pilot program launched last year in Kansas City, Mo., that has been credited with boosting community college enrollment in fields related to manufacturing by 35 percent. To extend the campaign, the Kansas City program recently received a $15 million Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.

"The goal is really to put in programs that will encourage the high schools and community colleges to develop a student base around the needs of the manufacturing trades," Probyn said. "This is all about raising the awareness and the profile of the manufacturing trades as a profession."

Probyn hopes to add equipment and facilities at the community colleges participating in the program - Metro in Omaha, Central Community College in Columbus and Southeast Community College in Lincoln.

The goals of the "Dream It Do It" program dovetail with efforts at the state government level to foster business expansion and lure new investments to the state through incentive programs, Probyn said.

"Creating this talent pool in the manufacturing arena also helps in efforts of economic development, to attract businesses to locate here, to relocate here and to expand here," he said.

Tony Raimondo, chairman of Behlen Manufacturing in Columbus, helped bring the campaign to Nebraska through his affiliations with the National Association of Manufacturers and the Manufacturing Institute, which worked together on the effort. He said that if the campaign succeeds, it likely would be expanded to cities such as Fremont, Norfolk and Beatrice.

Raimondo said one of the campaign's first goals will be to complete a "skills gap analysis" to determine in which areas the state is most likely to face worker shortages in the coming years. The Nebraska campaign hopes to qualify for a WIRED grant like that won by the Kansas City campaign, he said. To do so, the skills gap analysis will extend beyond manufacturing to address needs in the biotech and health care sectors, Raimondo said.

"We're trying to address the skills gap and help the kids find careers to keep Nebraska competitive," he said. "This total effort is geared toward U.S. competitiveness."

The program seeks to answer manufacturers' concerns that not enough young people graduate with skills and training needed for manufacturing jobs.

A National Association of Manufacturers report compiled in conjunction with the Deloitte & Touche accounting firm estimates that manufacturers will need as many as 10 million new skilled workers by 2020.

Tom Whalen of Omaha's Silverstone Group said he is working with the campaign to address what he says is a disconnect between educators and employers in Nebraska. He said he saw that disconnect during his 13-year tenure as chairman of the education council of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce.

"What I heard consistently ... was the need for more cooperation and collaboration between business and education," he said. "There continues to be a very real need for business to play an active role working with teachers and administrators to understand the needs of the workplace. That includes helping the educational community understand what job opportunities are in the pipeline."