A Day For Our Future

Workforce WindsorEssex’ Manufacturing Day is opening students’ eyes.

By Devan Mighton

Manufacturing Day is all about setting up the future. For years, local nonfor-profit Workforce WindsorEssex has been working with business and educational leaders in the Windsor-Essex County region to open the eyes of young people and make them realize their potential in a manufacturing field.

“The purpose of Manufacturing Day is to showcase the benefits of working within the manufacturing industry, a sector that accounts for 19 per cent of our workforce but continues to face persistent labour gaps,” explains Workforce WindsorEssex manager of research projects Tashlyn Teskey. “Touring clean and technologically advanced facilities unravels the misconception that jobs within the manufacturing industry are somehow worse than other jobs and inaccessible for jobseekers who don’t fit the stereotype of what somebody in the field should look like.”

Students are afforded a chance to see how far the industry has come in recent years, how complex manufacturing jobs can be, and that there are also supports for people who thought a job in the industry because of their gender or physical capabilities was out of reach.

Every October, students from across the region are invited to meet local industry leaders, tour factories, and learn about the benefits of jobs in the skilled trades and related fields. The event, which locally operates in partnership with Invest Windsor-Essex, originated in the United States, but grew to Windsor-Essex in 2016—the first Canadian region to host the event.

“A big benefit of Manufacturing Day is the opportunity for students who are interested in the industry to form real connections with employers,” states Teskey. “In last year’s Manufacturing Day, students were able to secure co-op placements with the businesses they were visiting. It’s a great way for the students to ask questions about skill and education requirements and potentially hear from younger employees just starting their career in the sector.”

She adds that the event has grown every year since its inception. Last year’s event, which took place on Oct. 7, 2022, featured 19 companies participating in 22 locations. Teskey says that the hope is that the event will grow further in 2023 and adds that the event has recently also been opened up to newcomers and jobseekers working with local employment services.

“Manufacturing Day is a great example of the importance of education and industry partners working together to provide our students with opportunities to explore skilled trades and careers that are in demand in our community,” states E.J. Lajeunesse Catholic Secondary School principal Natalie Julien-MacAdam.

Ryan states that Manufacturing Day has done a great job of exposing students, who may be interested, to co-op programs and the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP). Last year, over 100 students from Lajeunesse, from Gr. 8 to Gr. 12, were able to visit over 10 different local companies.

“Manufacturing Day is a great opportunity for high school students all over the county to get introduced to all the different careers and options for work in the world of manufacturing,” says Cavalier Tool & Manufacturing Ltd. manager of employee relations and talent Tal Czudner. As a company, Cavalier has been a major employer in the region since 1975 and currently boasts 250 employees.

“Cavalier has long been a big supporter of Manufacturing Day,” states Czudner. “We really roll out the red carpet—we get every one of our managers involved—to get the kids excited about the opportunities. As an industry, we don’t do a great job of explaining what we do and Manufacturing Day gives students the opportunity to see modern, clean, and safe facilities—and you can do a bunch of cool stuff and make some good cash.”

He says that past events have resulted in a great influx of interested co-op students that, in time, have made for beneficial OYAP students and are boon for local industry.

Lajeunesse Business teacher Shelley Ryan, who is also the school’s coordinator for the Specialist High Skills Majors program, says that Manufacturing Day has been highly beneficial for their students.

“Windsor-Essex has so much opportunity in the skilled trades and there’s a lot of myths and stigmas that we’re trying to break,” she says. “We need women, we need diversity, we need all different kinds of skills and talents that are university-bound, that are college-bound, apprenticeship-bound, and I think it’s all about opening up kids’ eyes.”

“Reko has been participating in Manufacturing Day every year since its inception,” says Reko International Group director of corporate human resources Lauren Beaudoin. “It’s always such an amazing day, seeing all the bright, young faces walking through our buildings, and watching our employees engaged with them.”

Founded in 1976 by the late Steve Reko, the company is headquartered in Lakeshore and employs hundreds of local tradesman from across the region.

“This is such a great community event that allows employers in Windsor-Essex County to showcase their businesses,” she states. “It is crucial for the younger generation to know and understand the potential manufacturing and skilled trades pathways that are available to them during and after high school. It allows companies like Reko to really show off the talent and innovative, modern manufacturing that we have here today.”

At last year’s Manufacturing Day event, Valiant Machine & Tool opened three of its facilities to students, with three busloads attending each spot.

“For us, it’s an opportunity to give high school students exposure to the automation business,” states Valiant senior human resources manager Mike Van Nie. “We go into their schools and we talk to them, we can show a video or two, but they don’t really get the true picture unless they get out in person and see. When we bring them out on the shop floor, we’ve got 50 robots out there that are two feet tall and they’re moving. You can see their jaws drop. It’s something that you have to see in person to get an understanding of what’s involved.”

Founded in 1959 as Avco Tool & Die, Valiant has long been a local leader in manufacturing. Today, they’ve grown to boast over 1,500 employees at 20 locations in 11 different countries.

“With a company like we are, there are pretty much options for every career path they would want to take,” explains Van Nie. “If you are good with your hands and are interested in the skilled trades, then we have apprenticeship opportunities right out of high school. Your schooling costs are all covered and you’re working during the day and going to school at night. After three or four years, you can be a skilled trades person.

“If the college route is something you’re looking at, that’s where most of our PLC programmers come from. St. Clair College, here, I would say has the top program in Canada for that.

“If you are more focussed on a university path, then we need people to come up with the concepts, engineer, and design all of our equipment—and there’s engineering and business school opportunities for purchasing, estimating, or sales.”

He says that Valiant has done a great job of recruiting co-op students through the event, and now take about 10 of them per school term.

“[Manufacturing Day] gives them exposure,” states Van Nie. “It’s an eye-opening experience for them. With manufacturing, people think of dirty environments; that they’re labour intensive. For them to see how that’s changed with all of the automation, updated machinery, robots— part of it is changing that mindset of manufacturing.”

Manufacturing Day 2023 will take place on Friday, October 6. For more information, please visit Workforce WindsorEssex’ Manufacturing Day web site at workforcewindsoressex.com/ manufacturing-day. W.E.