FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mandy Mayberry
September 24, 2015 Director of Communications, Marketing &
Recruiting/PIO
(580) 242-2750, Ext. 118
AUTRY TO HOST MANUFACTURING STEM DAY
ENID, OKLA. ¾ Autry Technology Center is hosting Manufacturing STEM Day October 2, 2015. This nation-wide event connects high school juniors and seniors from Autry’s 10 area partner schools, as well as students in full-time programs at Autry Tech, with local manufacturing companies to show how manufacturing has changed. The public is also welcome to attend anytime between 8 am and 4 pm.
Manufacturing employs 12 million people and supports 17.4 million total jobs. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that at least 8.65 million U.S. STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) jobs will be added by 2018. With 80 percent of the current manufacturing workforce being between the age of 45 and 65, there is a demand to recruit the next generation of workers.
“A local skills gap exists because many students fail to prepare for the quality jobs that are available in the Garfield County area,” said Brady McCullough, Autry Technology Center Superintendent. “Autry Tech is working to close this skills gap by first exposing students to the opportunities to train for local jobs, and secondly, helping them realize the opportunities to grow careers and raise their families here at home. We at Autry work to provide the best training experience possible with relevant and rigorous courses to meet the local workforce needs.”
A skills gap happens when workers do not have the skills that match those needed for open jobs. Autry provides training for individuals to be able to find work in these jobs which include manufacturing and STEM.
Jimmy Stallings, President and CEO of Envirotech, will speak to students on Manufacturing STEM Day about the area workforce and economic development. Envirotech takes pride in challenging their employees to be innovative and deliver results.
Additionally, classes will hear presentations from Autry’s business and industry partners that relate to their fields of study. Companies will bring technology to show students during their presentations. GEFCO will be bringing the GEFCO DP2000 and 30k portable drilling rig, St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center will have their Intraosseous Drill, Brueggemann’s will bring their Nightmare Chassis 600cc Modified car, and Parrish Manufacturing will have their Safety Pump System to show attendees. Over 500 students will win prizes for completing a scavenger hunt through a mobile app. This scavenger hunt will allow the students to use technology to interact with the businesses, learn facts about them and share their experience to social media.
“We hope this event will open the eyes of students to discover the possible career opportunities available to them in manufacturing and STEM,” said Mandy Mayberry, director of communications, marketing and recruiting at Autry Tech. “The future of manufacturing is growing and changing rapidly. We want to help close the skills gap and equip the future generation to succeed in this thriving market.”
A few of the local businesses that will be in attendance include KOCH Nitrogen, Enel, GEFCO, AdvancePierre Foods, Aircraft Structures, Integris BASS Baptist, Parrish Manufacturing, St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center, Oxbow, Envirotech, and Brueggemann Engineering. If you or your business is interested in participating or attending, you can contact Mandy Mayberry at 580-242-2750 or by email at .
Autry Technology Center has been a part of the Enid community since 1967 and is one of 29 CareerTech schools across Oklahoma. The center has more than 25 career programs and offers a wide variety of evening and weekend short-term courses and certifications for many diverse career fields. Autry serves nearly 13,000 individuals each year, including many area employees who receive training through the Business and Industry Services Department that works with over 500 local businesses each year.
# # #