Industry leaders gathered at the Fresno Convention Center for the 9th Annual San Joaquin Valley Manufacturing Summit where the launch of new program to bridge manufacturing and education was announced. Photo by Frank Lopez

Collaboration, training and the future workforce were the central themes of the recent Valley Made Summit at the Fresno Convention Center.

The San Joaquin Valley Manufacturing Alliance’s ninth annual event was held on Oct. 30 at the Fresno Convention Center.

San Joaquin Valley Manufacturing Alliance CEO Genelle Taylor Kumpe said the event is meant for connection, the exchange of ideas and collectively changing the future of manufacturing.

“This in turn supports the quality jobs and economic stability that are critical to the Central San Joaquin Valley,” Kumpe said. “We are creating a foundation for business to grow.”

She said the manufacturing sector in the Central Valley contributes $19.3 billion to the regional economy.

Kumpe also made an announcement — significant not only to the Central Valley, but to the entire state — about work done in collaboration with the Fresno County Economic Development Corporation and The Manufacturing Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit workforce development and education affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers.

 

Get FAME

The big news was the launch of the Central Valley Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME) chapter.

FAME provides workforce development including technical training, integration of manufacturing core competencies and hands-on experience to build the future of the sector.

Kumpe said it will not only be the first chapter in the Central Valley and California, but also the first one west of the Rocky Mountains.

The Central Valley FAME Chapter will collaborate with local manufacturers, educational institutions, and community partners to ensure the program’s success. Through internships, apprenticeships, and industry certifications, participants will gain valuable hands-on experience and develop the skills necessary for a rewarding career in manufacturing.

Lance Hastings, president and CEO of the California Manufacturers & Technology Association (CMTA) said the launch of FAME in California is a pivotal step for the San Joaquin Valley’s future manufacturing work force.

“FAME is not just another training initiative, it’s a groundbreaking, employer-led program that closes the skills gap in manufacturing by training and equipping our next generation of professionals,” Hastings said.

He said industrial employers are facing a real challenge in finding skilled employees to take on the roles in their facilities.

FAME is the answer to that need Hastings said—a solution developed by employers for employers.

He said the CMTA is excited to work with employers, and send off the next generation of the workforce to successful careers.

 

Successful summit

Over 900 manufacturing industry attendees gathered at the summit, including prominent local manufacturing leaders, government officials, educators and students.

The summit highlights the manufacturing sector’s vital role in the Central Valley’s regional economy, as well as manufacturers across the state.

Attendees had opportunities to engage in job fairs, attend various workshops, visit company booths and network.

The summit’s theme for this year was “Empowering Excellence, Maximizing Potential,” centered on harnessing the power of human capital to drive innovation and growth.

This year’s keynote speaker was Matt Poepsel, vice president and godfather of talent optimization at The Predictive Index. His talk, “Optimal Output: Uniting Production, People, and Potential,” addressing how human capital is the leading source of competitive advantage in manufacturing.

There was also a panel discussion, “Forging the Future: how Higher Education & Workforce Development Power Manufacturing,” moderated by SCCCD Chancellor Carole Goldsmith, featuring California Labor & Workforce Development Agency Secretary Stewart Knox and Manufacturing Institute Chief Program Officer Gardner Carrick.

 

New center

For a pipeline of well trained, highly skilled workers, Kumpe announced that SJVMA, through an ongoing partnership with the Fresno Unified School District and Career Nexus, are launching a new work-based internship learning center to provide hands on-experience for students interested in manufacturing careers.

The center will bridge in-class learning with real world application by addressing challenges including transportation, lack of training and limited internship availability.

Students will have paid internships where they create actual products used by our local manufactures. They will also have opportunities for mentorship from professionals in the Central Valley’s manufacturing sector.

Local companies will come up with the design of the curriculum, equipment and process to align with their workforce needs.

 

Investing in leadership

In his keynote address, Poepsel went over how leadership can unite people, processes and production.

He noted the changes in needs and expectations in the workplace, and how businesses can overcome common challenges and make the shifts in mindset and execution to unlock higher levels of creation.

Poepsel said that for every dollar in manufacturing, the economy sees a multiplication of $2.74, and every one new manufacturing job creates three more jobs in other industry sectors.

“We need a manufacturing industry that is strong, healthy, and flourishing,” he said.

Poepsel said that operating systems and people systems have to work together for output, and employers have to not only invest and strategize on the technical aspects of a business, but on the lives and conditions for their employees.

He said when manufacturers all have the access to the same technologies, the only differentiating factor are their people.

“Who succeeds in the future are going to be the firms that link the two systems in a way that’s going to propel them forwards,” Poepsel said.

In the 250 years of advancements since the Industrial Revolution, employers in all sectors are increasingly focusing on technology and decreasingly on people, Poepsel said.

People take a notice of that, he added.

Poepsel said there is still a misconception that workers have about manufacturing jobs, picturing dirty, backbreaking jobs in a dark warehouse, and no single brand or company can solve that issue.

“Together, we can start to provide a better education,” Poepsel said. “The environment has changed. Don’t just believe the movies or Netflix.”