Members and presenters of the Valley Made Manufacturing Summit pose for a group photo onstage on Oct. 30. 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 held on Oct. 30 was meant for connection, the exchange of ideas and collectively changing the future of manufacturing, said SJVMA CEO Genelle Taylor Kumpe said the event

“This in turn supports the quality jobs and economic stability that are critical in 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 made a big announcement at the event, highlighting the fruits of the labor done in collaboration with the Fresno County Economic Development Corporation and the Manufacturing Institute.

The group will be launching the Central Valley Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME) chapter.

FAME provides workforce development through 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 west of the Rocky Mountains.

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 future manufacturing workforce.

“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 manufacturers are facing a real challenge of finding skilled employees to take on the challenging roles in facilities.

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

 

Summit highlights

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

Attendees had opportunities to engage in job fairs, breakout workshops, networking and vendor booths.

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,” addressed 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 State Center Community College District Chancellor Carole Goldsmith and featuring California Labor and Workforce Development Agency Secretary Stewart Knox and Manufacturing Institute Chief Program Officer Gardner Carrick.

 

Internship learning center

For a pipeline of highly skilled workers, Kumpe announced that SJVMA — through an ongoing partnership with the Fresno Unified School District and Career Nexus — is launching a 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 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.

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

Poepsel said that for every dollar spent in manufacturing, the economy sees a multiplier benefit 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.

 

Focus on people

Poepsel said that employers must not only invest and strategize on the technical aspects of the business, but also in the lives and conditions of their employees.

He said that when manufacturers all have access to the same technologies, the only differentiating factor is 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 work in a dark warehouse. 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.”