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Fifteen Grayling High students started their day of Talent Tours by visiting the Grayling Michigan Works office for a short presentation covering Michigan Works services, youth program offerings, and the Career PathFinder tool. At Springs Window Fashions students geared up with goggles and ear protection and had a briefing on safety during the tour. Human Resource Manager, John Metts led the students from the shipping department through the processing plant to see the machines and workers operating the equipment, and onto to the kiln area where wood is dried. John stressed what he looks for in a prospective employee during an interview and gave advice on how to make a great impression. He spoke about the many areas in manufacturing that provide a good living. At Springs there are many opportunities for advancement for an employee starting in an entry level position and John said he encourages his staff to continue to grow with the company. Springs Window Fashions has been a longtime supporter of student tours, and with October being Manufacturing Month, the company didn’t want to miss the opportunity to introduce students to their line of work and showcase manufacturing as a career path. At the 64,000 square foot Alro Steel plant, General Manager, Jason Campbell kicked off the tour with a presentation on Alro’s history and the company operations. Jason shared how his career with Alro Steel advanced from an entry level starting position to working his way up to General Manager. He spoke on the excellent benefit package the company offers and that many employees have been with the company for several years. The students asked about what an entry level job looks like at Alro, and what skills or experience they need to know to get in. They were also interested in hearing about how many pounds of steel were shipped out on one truck and the cost of a truckload of steel. The students moved onto the plant operations area and were led by Chris Perez who explained cutting steel to customer specs, shipping, and how product is stored and held in inventory. Chris talked about Alro being employee safety centered and customer service focused. He touched on the certifications needed to perform certain jobs at Alro including overhead crane rigging and forklift operating. He encouraged the students to consider jobs in the manufacturing sector being they can lead to lucrative careers. Alro Steel is a distributor of metals, industrial supplies, and plastics, with 70 locations in 12 states. Alro offers cut-to-size metals and plastics with next day delivery to over 25,000 customers in North America. At Monarch Millworks, Seth Reichard, Logistics, Production, Marketing, HR, QC, and Sales Manager led students throughout the plant to show how they manufacture wood to be used for trim, custom orders, and wood pellets. During the tour Seth spoke to the students about the many opportunities Monarch offers for entry level up to higher positions at the company. With his background as a former school teacher, Seth was able to relate very well to the students and give them advice on choosing jobs and careers that they enjoy. He also emphasized that manufacturing offers a path to a viable, stable career with the potential to advance into other areas. The students learned how wood is dried in the kiln and experienced briefly how hot and humid that area is. They were able to see the lumber graders who check boards for quality. Seth pointed out how lumber grading is a sought after skill and the certification that is obtained to become a certified lumber grader, which is good paying job in manufacturing, and a transferable credential. Students had some questions about how many boards are run through machines per day, and what basic skills are needed to be hired on. One student was interested in knowing if Monarch would help pay for a higher degree, which the company does offer assistance with. In wrapping up the tour, Seth gave each student his contact information and let them know the opportunity to work at Monarch could be theirs. The day of tours wrapped up at Kirtland Community College, where Cesalee Kuffel, Admissions Coordinator showed students educational departments including the wood sciences lab where the instructor demonstrated using a machine to custom cut a canoe paddle; the policy academy where cadets were practicing drills, the auto shop where current students were in class, and the health sciences that included the patient simulators. Kirtland’s 38 degree and certificate programs are designed to guarantee student success. Kirtland offers degree and certificate programs, including transfer associate degrees, and areas of study in arts and sciences, business, professional programs, industrial trades, health science, public safety and more. Programs and courses offered include: wood science technology, cosmetology, nursing, cardiac sonography, medical assistant, surgical technology, cyber security, art, industrial and construction technology, automotive technology, police academy, as well as online offerings, general education, prerequisites, science classes with labs and transfer credits. Following their tour of Kirtland’s campus, the students enjoyed lunch and had information presented by Kirtland staff on financial aid and how to apply for admission.

10/5/21 – Cooper Standard, Gaylord - Johannesburg Schools (7 students) Seven Johannesburg students attended a talent tour at Cooper Standard in Gaylord in honor of Manufacturing Day. The tour started with a welcoming slideshow presentation about Cooper Standard as a whole and then went into Gaylord Cooper Standard. Sample products were passed around for students to feel and see at the presentation with the Plant Manager Brian. Students then put on safety PPE and hit the floor dividing into 2 groups. During the tour, students were able to see many different style auto products that Cooper Standard makes from rubber, plastic and metal. Students were able to see production, maintenance, welding, CNC, receiving and shipping and talk with mechanical engineers. Human Resources also did a little plug about her job, as well as some other salary positions. Career advancement, including the ability to come in and work your way up, was discussed. Also that Cooper Standard can help with covering college costs. It was mentioned that production doesn't need any formal education, but for positions such as mechanical engineer, a college degree is usually required. They also talked about the future of apprenticeships with their location and going that route. After the tour, information on Career Outlook and Pathfinder was distributed and Michigan Works staff discussed the Career PathFinder tool, Michigan Works services, and available Youth services. Then students were able to see information with the new electrical cars that are coming out in the coming years with Cooper Standard production's help, as well as watch a quick video on the new Lucid Cars. Wrapping up the tour was a pizza party. Student feedback was very positive, with students reporting they were very surprised at how extensive the process is for everything to go through. All students wished to have more hands-on interaction though.

Five students from Vanderbilt High School attended talent tours in honor of Manufacturing Day 2021. The students toured Springs Window Fashions and Monarch Millworks in Grayling. Students learned not only what the companies manufacture, but also what career paths are available in these industries and what education requirements are needed to pursue these careers. Michigan Works! staff coordinated the tours and also spoke with the students about the free services and programs that are available through Michigan Works, such as career exploration, job preparedness workshops, and tuition assistance, and also the Career PathFinder online tool.

10/1/21 – FiberChar & WellConnect, Alpena - Atlanta (16 students) The tour of FiberChar and WellConnect were chosen to recognize the Wood Products-Manufacturing Industry, in recognition of Manufacturing Month, to bring awareness to in demand occupations and career potential. Sixteen Atlanta Schools 9th grade students toured both the wood product facility and the geothermal unit facility. At FiberChar, students were given wood samples to handle, with explanations of the types of wood they were holding and the usage of the product. After the tours, discussions were held regarding the educational requirements of the employees, as well as discussing the on-the-job learning and potential Bachelor’s degree requirements, depending on position. Michigan Works! staff discussed available services, youth programs, and the Career PathFinder tool. Atlanta’s teacher, Ms. Taratuta, was happy for students to discover how in-need the manufacturing world is and that these companies play just a small part of the process of making various products. Students were surprised to learn the amount of time and work it takes to simply fulfill an order and also to learn that a company right in their backyard ships product internationally.

Bliss Painting has been in business in Alpena since 2008, offering interior and exterior painting of residential, light commercial, and industrial. As many other Michigan employers have experienced, Bliss has been faced with hiring challenges in the skilled trades over the past six years - even to the point where they’ve had to reduce their staff from 12 to three due to the lack of reliable employees. In the current workforce environment, employment candidates were coming in with much less basic work and life skills. Without being able to hire competent reliable staff, Bliss knew they would not be able to complete the contracts they had in place for 2021. Due to the lack of available candidates in Alpena, Bliss was finding they were having to pay entry-level employees a substantially higher starting wage in order to attract a potential employee. The conundrum of doing this in a skilled painting trade is it takes approximately twelve months before a new employee can even begin to perform at a level that will earn an employer any profit. So Bliss turned to their local Business Solutions Professional, Shelly Blankenship, at Michigan Works! for guidance. Shelly reviewed potential job candidates that were already working with Michigan Works. After talking with Michigan Works Youth Career Advisor, Rob Adams, she found the perfect candidate. Shelly and Rob referred Justin Bond, a Michigan Works WIOA Out-of-School Youth participant, to Bliss. Then Shelly helped Bliss obtain an On-the-Job Training grant, which would pay a portion of Justin’s wages as he learned on the job. This helped Bliss offset the weekly wage cost of hiring and training on the job. Bliss’ owner, Doug Bliss, reports, “We created a training course for our new employee and Michigan Works! approved it. We then hired Justin Bond and completed basic training. Even though the grant has ceased, we are continuing to work with him on his proficiency of tasks he has been trained on already. Justin has performed exceptionally well for us and he’s already received a raise. Justin’s attitude and desire to learn this trade has been stellar. He has shown a continued interest and desire to advance in all aspects of the painting trade - even to the point of master painter perhaps.” “I want to communicate our thanks and appreciation to Michigan Works! and the Shelly Blankenship,” continued Doug. “She has been wonderful to work with and has gone over and above the call of duty in assisting us. Also, Justin’s caseworker (Rob) has also gone over and above in his duties to seek the success of Justin as well.” Doug says the best lesson learned is to have good communication with your new employee and understand our society’s new employment culture. Which means you need to properly assess the needs of your employees and work diligently on employee retention rewards for employees who get the job done.

Steve H. was a general laborer/directional driller/locator looking to gain new skills for a higher paying position. He came into the Onaway Michigan Works! Northeast Consortium service center to apply for his seasonal unemployment from White Tail Drilling, where he had been working since 2015. While at the Michigan Works office, Career Navigator Yolanda Romel discussed with Steve the services that Michigan Works offers, including class room training opportunities. Steve was interested in obtaining his CDL-A license for a while, but was unable to afford the classes. Yolanda worked with Steve to complete the required paperwork and Steve was approved for training. After completing his CDL-A training over a few short weeks, Steve now reports that he was able to get a $5 an hour raise from his employer and he’ll now be seasonally laid off for less time every year! Quite happy with the assistance Michigan Works was able to provide, Steve even wrote a thank you note to Yolanda for all her help.

In April 2019 Heather R. made the decision to drive cross country to move from California to Michigan. While in California she worked as a medical assistant, and upon arriving in Michigan she enrolled in the Nursing program at Kirtland Community College. To support herself while in school, Heather was working part-time as a waitress in a local restaurant. While in the college library, Heather bumped into family friend and Michigan Works! Career Advisor, Tracy Bohl. Tracy informed her of the WIOA Class Room Training tuition assistance program. At this point, Heather had only one remaining semester left in the Nursing program, but Tracy advised they could likely assist with tuition for that last semester, thus lessening the amount of student loans Heather would need to take on in order to complete the program. Michigan Works was able to assist Heather with tuition during her last semester of college at Kirtland Community College, during which she was also dual enrolled in the ADN to BSN program with Saginaw Valley State University. Heather graduated from the Nursing program in May 2021 with President's list honors. Upon graduating, Heather passed her NCLEX exam on July 9, 2021, was married on July 24, and accepted her dream job on September 20! She is now employed as an Emergency Room Registered Nurse at Covenant HealthCare.

Levi H. was working in a field he wasn’t happy with. He wanted a career change, however he didn’t have the funds needed to pay for career training in a new field. After doing some research, he found that Michigan Works! often can help people like him get the funding they needed to pursue new career opportunities, so he contacted them immediately. Michigan Works! Career Advisor, Jackie Gransden, and Career Navigator, Marie Thompson, walked Levi through the process of applying for the training funding to get his CDL. Once the paperwork was taken care of, Levi contacted the Tri Area Truck Driving School through Kirtland Community College and got enrolled. After three weeks of training Levi was ready to take the state testing. He completed his testing, received his CDL, and began applying for jobs online. He is happy to report that he’s received a job with Northern Logistics. “I’m looking forward to starting my new career,” says Levi. “Thank you Michigan Works; without them this dream of mine would not have been possible. And thanks to Tri Area Trucking School as well. And a big thanks to Marie Thompson, Jackie Gransden, and Dan Haskins (with Tri Area Trucking) for all the help and support along the way!”