Sparks Fly April 28, 2012 at Lakeland Comm. College

It's time for the 2nd Annual AWT RoboBot Competition. Click here for all the information.

The Alliance for Working Together (AWT) is a group of Northeast Ohio manufacturers who share a common mission:  to change the misperception of American manufacturing, shape the next generation of manufacturing professionals, and promote careers in manufacturing.

The AWT was formed by Roger Sustar (Fredon Corporation) in 2002 during the post 9/11 environment. This was a difficult time for many manufacturers who saw a sudden decline in business. The business owners involved in the early years of AWT were looking for a forum in which they could discuss human resource matters, training, health care, travel costs and charities. The premise of the group was no bureaucracy, no formal structure and no regularly scheduled meetings. The group was very careful to avoid any collusion at all costs.

As the time went on, the group continued to grow, grow and grow. The economy drove common threads of concern, including: survival of manufacturing in Lake County, Ohio and the United States and find ways to develop and attract manufacturing employees now and in the future.

Where are we now?
The AWT is hard at work to change the overall perception of manufacturing. The group realizes the need for educators, counselors, parents and others to understand what a career path in manufacturing is all about. Old “industrial arts” and apprenticeship programs are dying and the baby boomers are approaching retirement ages. This is going to create a huge hole for employers in the manufacturing/machine trades industry unless future generations enter the field. People need to see that the industry is growing and change the perception that “manufacturing is dead.”

AWT Consortium now includes two groups to assist in common goals related to workforce development. One team is focused on providing input for course curriculum (primarily for the Associates Degree in Applied Sciences/Advanced Manufacturing) and the other team determines the means in which they will promote and market the initiative.

A November 2010 study by the Brookings Institute lists the greater Cleveland area second in the nation in manufacturing job growth, behind only Youngstown as the nation’s leader (read the complete article here). Ohio is leading the way, but to maintain this lead, new manufacturing professionals are needed to fill this growing job demand and replace retiring baby-boomers in skilled positions

Public perception wrongly views manufacturing jobs as manual and repetitive. Jobs are assumed to require little skill and offer less pay. This could not be further from the truth. In reality, manufacturing is high-tech, highly-skilled, and high paying. Manufacturing is more than just assembly. It’s the entire lifecycle of the product from the design and engineering to the operation and support functions that include marketing, sales, finance, supervision, management, quality assurance and human resources.

As part of its plan to achieve this goal, the AWT has partnered with Lakeland Community College to develop a new Associate of Applied Science degree in Manufacturing. Students will not only learn the skills necessary to succeed in a manufacturing career, but they will also build relationships with the AWT member companies to apply their knowledge in a practical setting . For more details click here.

Schools and communities across the US are looking at the AWT/Lakeland partnership as a model on the many successes that can be realized when businesses and educators work together.

Join the AWT and make the things that matter.