Manufacturing Day celebrated by Windsor businesses, students
Friday is Manufacturing Day but local students and businesses starting celebrating a day early this year due to a professional development day at schools across the region.
Manufacturing Day is a celebration of modern manufacturing, meant to inspire the next generation of manufacturers.
Although Manufacturing Day officially occurs on the first Friday in October - this year being Oct. 2- any day can be a Manufacturing Day.
So, Thursday, students had a chance to tour local factories.
Companies talked to teens about the benefits of working in the field.
Carl Powers, general manager of Anchor Danly in Windsor, says it's important to get youth interested in that field.
"Not all kids know what they want to do. Part of this is exposing them to the manufacturing field and showing them how many different careers there are," Powers said. "It's not just about hands-on, putting parts together. There's IT, people cutting plates, there's accounting."
Powers says there is a future in manufacturing, regardless of the outcome of the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks.
"There was a large number - it seems to me like 800 million - of new customers potentially that we have the potential to be able to sell to, too.
"We ultimately have to wait and see the details of the agreement before we really know if there's any impact for us or not."
Powers says his company plans to hire about five people each year to make up for those retiring from the plant.
David Kolaczynski was one of the students that toured Anchor Danly.
"It showed me that man is not just steel, it's also electronics, it's also IT, it's also HR. There's a lot of different people here with a lot of different skill sets. There's a lot of noise but there's also a lot of efficiency. A lot of people have to work together to get the job done," he said.
"Manufacturing Day is an excellent opportunity for our students to see manufacturing in action and learn about the skilled trades. It provides students with an understanding of the varied employment opportunities available in a manufacturing setting," said Ron Le Clair, trustee for the Greater Essex County District School Board.
Windsor-Essex Economic Development Corporation interim CEO Rakesh Naidu said manufacturing is a huge part of the local economy.
"Manufacturing Day helps to communicate the importance this sector plays in the local economy as we continue to strengthen and diversify the economy through advanced manufacturing," Naidu said.