Cooper Tires has joined the Manufacturing Institute’s (MI) Dream It. Do It. initiative, becoming part of a network of companies and organizations throughout the USA that share the goal of enhancing the image of careers in manufacturing and addressing the widening skills gap in the nation’s manufacturing workforce pipeline.
“Manufacturing is the backbone of our economy, and we all should be concerned about the supply of future talent with the desire and capability to make the products that keep our economy strong,” said Brenda Harmon, chief human resources officer for Cooper.
“It’s not just that demographics are working against us, we also have a generation of young people who have been steered away from manufacturing or at least not encouraged to explore good jobs in manufacturing that may or may not require a college or technical degree. As a result, hundreds of great jobs in manufacturing go unfilled as some young adults find themselves unemployed or underemployed and possibly saddled with significant college debt.
“We have jobs for those with a good work ethic and a desire to learn – with or without a college degree – and we must be working with parents, educators and community leaders to help students understand the wide range of opportunities that exist within Cooper and manufacturing in general.”
In Cooper’s first year of involvement in Dream It. Do It., the company will focus its efforts in US communities where it operates tire manufacturing facilities. As part of the effort, Cooper has appointed a Dream Team, which is composed of more than 25 employees who hold a wide variety of positions within these facilities and at Cooper’s corporate headquarters and technical centers, located in Findlay, Ohio, USA. Throughout the year, the Dream Team will execute multiple programs in local communities, including children’s mentoring efforts, teaching in local middle schools using an interactive, manufacturing-related curriculum, and engaging in a number of other community-based efforts such as fairs and speaking engagements to drive broad awareness about careers in manufacturing.
October 9, 2015
