Today's EagleHerald landed on the doorstep with an ominous thump. "Fed chief delivers grim news: Bernanke says economy is 'close to faltering'"
"America has a jobs crisis," the article went on to say.
Fortunately in our community, the news is more positive. Employment in local industries is generally up, after taking a tumble at the end of 2008.
We have jobs. Just about any job you can train for, we've got, from highly-skilled maintenance specialist to research and development engineer. Our factories are clean environments. Machines do the work now; workers run machines.
In our community, you can have a pretty good life working in the industrial sector. But it's not the only choice.
You can get an associate's degree in a variety of exciting fields at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College. You can get a liberal arts education that prepares you for life by giving you the skills to think and solve problems. You can also get a four-year degree, thanks to UW-Marinette's partnerships with baccalaureate-granting colleges. You can take college credits in high school. You can try on careers by getting a summer job in a local business.
It's a pretty good time to be a young person in the Marinette Menominee area. Our challenge is getting the word out.
Over the past several days at two separate economic development summits, I've heard local experts say that we've got to reach parents, we've got to tell them that there are many more choices locally than some of them realize.
Our Business & Education Partnership, a group made up of business people, local school officials and former teachers, already works with 8th graders, high-school sophomores, upperclassmen, new educators and school boards. Now it's time to identify ways to bring parents into the picture.
I'm looking forward to this challenge! Stay tuned: I'll keep you in the loop.
No comments:
Post a Comment