Dean Peckham

Manufacturing future careers for Elk Grove Unified School District students through the Sacramento Valley Manufacturing Initiative (SVMI)

POSTED ON OCTOBER 15, 2018

Last spring, several staff members from the Elk Grove Unified School District attended a kick-off meeting hosted by Siemens together with several locally based Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM). The group included CEOs, VPs, teachers, public school administrators, human resource representatives and higher education institutions. The staff from the Siemens North American passenger light rail manufacturing facility led a tour of their more than 583,000 square foot facility where they employ more than 1,000 people all working to build a full range of rail vehicles. After the tour, the group of local leaders discussed the OEM industry, the skilled workforce needs of those manufacturers and the job, career and educational opportunities for local area graduates.

The OEM industry, similar to the building industry, offers many career avenues for students who graduate from high school. Often, instead of choosing to go directly to college, graduates seek to gain hands-on experience in a trade, earn a steady income and eventually become professional tradesmen and women with opportunities to go on to college and into management. During the tour of each station, manufacturing area leads spoke to the tour group to tell their story of how they went from high school and into a community college, a trade school or the military to earn a special manufacturing skill certification and that since joining Siemens, they’ve advanced their skills, pay and experience working for an international company. At the conclusion of the half-day event, it became clear to the tour group that several of the skills sought, like welding and engineering, are easily transferable from one industry to another.

Two Elk Grove Unified Career Technical Education teachers took advantage of training offered by industry experts from the OEM group where they learned more about CAD programs and advanced welding. Since last spring, discussions have continued between EGUSD and SVMI to build awareness about the many opportunities in manufacturing for EGUSD graduates. This fall, as high school students gear up to make important decisions regarding their future careers, participation in career fairs and activities can be life-altering given the many opportunities to network. SVMI is dedicated to helping students across the valley gain exposure to 21st century manufacturing careers and the month of October will be packed with events featuring SVMI and their partners to give students an idea of the opportunities and rewarding careers available in the manufacturing business.

SVMI is focused on making a positive impact on the lives of young people by educating students and the community in jobs involving mechanical and manufacturing engineers, machinist, quality technician, maintenance mechanic, customer service / sales, post production technicians and more. SVMI’s goal is to ensure that the Sacramento area is viewed as a competitive manufacturing region with plenty of skilled workers to fill job openings. SVMI is participating in many informational activities that will wrap up with a tour of Pacific Coast Producers in Woodland on October 19, 2018.

• Other events featuring SVMI included:
• Making your Mark Award Ceremony on Oct. 5
• Ceronix of Auburn tour on Oct.5
• Ceratizit of Rancho Cordova Tour on Oct 5.
• Rocklin Mini Maker Faire at Sierra College on Oct. 6
• Valley High School Career Fair at Siemens on Oct. 10
• Siemens tour on Oct. 11
• High school student presentations by Tri Tool, Stewart Tools, Garner Products, Harris & Bruno, Siemens and JL Haley during the month of October.

The Elk Grove Unified School District enthusiastically welcomed SVMI and their partners to attend the district’s many career fairs. Siemens and SVMI partners recently presented at the Valley High School Career Fair on October 10th and look forward to participating in Laguna Creek High School’s Career Fair on October 17th as well as the upcoming Florin High School Career Fair on October 18th & 19th. The combined outreach and awareness efforts between EGUSD, the 5th largest school district in California and Siemens, one of the largest manufacturing conglomerates in the world, specializing in industry, energy, healthcare, and infrastructure, promises to continue delivering high quality instruction for EGUSD students, which will prepare them to become high performing people who find high performance solutions.

About the Elk Grove Unified School District

TheElk Grove Unified School District (EGUSD) is the fifth-largest school district in California located in southern Sacramento County. EGUSD covers 320 square miles and includes 67 schools: 42 elementary schools, nine middle schools, nine high schools, five alternative education schools, an adult school, one charter school and a virtual academy. Offering a multitude of educational programs, including over 70 career-themed academies and pathways within 15 industry sectors, we prepare our students for college and career by supporting them with the means to be creative problem solvers; self-aware, self-reliant and self-disciplined; technically literate; effective communicators and collaborators; and engaged in the community as individuals with integrity. We integrate rigorous academics with career-based learning and real world workplace experiences and ensure that Every Student is Learning, in Every Classroom, in Every Subject, Every Day to Prepare College, Career and Life Ready Graduates.

October means more than Octoberfest and Halloween. It means manufacturing. Opportunities abound this month to experience what manufacturing means to the community and to students looking for a challenging and rewarding career.

The Sacramento Valley Manufacturing Initiative (SVMI) is participating in a full slate of activities that began Monday October 1 with an introduction to manufacturing at the City of Rancho Cordova City Council meeting and ending with a tour of Pacific Coast Producers in Woodland on October 19^th.

In between, we’ve got:

• Making your Mark Award Ceremony on Oct. 5
• Ceronix of Auburn tour on Oct.5
• Ceratizit of Rancho Cordova Tour on Oct 5.
• Rocklin Mini Maker Faire at Sierra College on Oct. 6
• Valley High School Career Fair at Siemens on Oct. 10
• Siemens tour on Oct. 11
• High school student presentations by  Tri Tool, Stewart Tools, Garner Products, Harris & Bruno, Siemens and JL Haley.

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Calendar of Events

ROCKLIN MINI MAKER FAIRE, 10/6
Click Here for the Faire Website!
SVMI Participants

• Siemens
• Tri Tool
• JL Haley
• Robotics Evolution
  • Harris & Bruno
  • S & S Machine

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TOURS
10/5, 10 am      Power Inn  Make Your Mark             Sacramento
10/5, 11 am      Ceratizit (formerly Pro Max Tools)  Rancho Cordova
10/5, 10 am     Ceronix                                                   Auburn
10/11   TBD     Siemens                                                  Sacramento
10/19, 9 am     Pacific Coast Producers (PCP)          Woodland

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HIGH SCHOOL OUTREACH
10/8    Cosumnes Oaks                 Robotics Evolution
10/10   Valley HS Career              FairSiemens
10/15   Kinney HS                          Tri Tool
10/15   Oak Ridge HS                    Stewart Tool
10/15   Folsom HS                         JL Haley
10/15   Rocklin HS                         Garner Products
10/15   Lincoln HS                         Harris & Bruno
10/16   Roseville HS                      Harris & Bruno
10/16   Whitney HS                       Garner Products
10/17   Laguna Creek HS             Siemens
10/18   Florin HS                           Siemens
10/19   Florin HS                           Siemens
TBD     Rosemont HS                   Robotics Evolution

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COUNCIL & BOARD PRESENTATIONS
10/1    Rancho Cordova City Council
10/2    Marysville City Council
10/3    Yuba City City Council
10/9    Yolo County Board of Supervisors
10/9    Rocklin City Council
10/10  Elk Grove City Council
10/16  Sacramento City Council
10/16  Woodland City Council
10/17  Roseville City Council
10/17  West Sacramento City Council

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About SVMI

SVMI is focused on the development of a regional workforce to meet the complex needs of 21st century manufacturing. Our efforts will ensure that the Sacramento area is viewed as a region of manufacturing excellence with a globally competitive manufacturing sector and a solid pipeline of skilled workers to showcase our region’s success and expansion.

The Sacramento Valley Manufacturing Initiative, in collaboration with the Los Rios Community College District Center of Excellence just released a dynamic infographic highlighting the workforce demand needs of manufacturers in the Sacramento Region. This asset is part of SVMI’s Manufacturing Week activities, including presentations to high school students in the region highlighting exciting career pathways into manufacturing that are available through the region’s community colleges.

Download Info Packet >