Never too soon to start

The Journal staff

Mequon Sometimes it's hard to see the forest for the trees, or the smokestacks for the suburbs.

About 800 Ozaukee County eighth graders were introduced to the world of manufacturing during a recent career fair featuring 12 local companies. The Workforce 2010 Manufacturers' Showcase was held at Milwaukee Area Technical College's North Campus here.

Workforce 2010 is an arm of the Ozaukee County Economic Development Corporation. This is the second year the group has held the showcase, which was attended by students from the Grafton, Mequon-Thiensville, Northern Ozaukee and Port Washington School Districts.

For many of the students, it was their first encounter with local manufacturing firms like Grafton's EST Co. and Tecumseh Products, and Mequon's Snider Mold Co.

"I had no idea about any of these things before," said Colleen Mattingly, 14, a student at Mequon's Lake Shore Middle School.

"It makes you really think what's out there," agreed her classmate, Laura Kowalske, 13.

And that's exactly the point, showcase organizers said.

"Young people don't know what a lot of these companies do," said Pam Rochford, a business teacher at Homestead High School in Mequon who helped plan the event.

"Kids learn so much from things like this, from people who are actually doing these things. I can read to them out of a textbook, but this is hands-on. Maybe it will click." Earlier Start

Last year's showcase was designed for high school sophomores. This year, organizers decided to focus on eighth graders because they were less likely to have begun making definite career plans.

"We thought, these are the fertile fields. This is the time to plant seeds," said William Hintz, assistant principal at Homestead and another organizer. "This will help those young people make some appropriate career choices."

The showcase on Friday was divided into 5 one-hour sessions, one for each of the middle schools attending. Business representatives set up shop in individual classrooms and gave groups of students 15-minute presentations on company history, types of products and available jobs.

Students attended three sessions. According to Hintz, each district incorporated the showcase into its curriculum.

"It's very unique to each school district," he said. "They have been customizing this day for themselves. We have some who are focusing on the environmental side. Others are focusing on business and industry." Benefit for Businesses

After the presentations, students had a chance to ask questions. Cathy Jones, human resources director for Allen-Edmonds Shoe Corp. in Port Washington, was pleased with the response.

"Everyone's been very attentive," she said. "You can tell they are taking this very seriously. They weren't just blowing this off."

The businesses took the event seriously, too. During their presentations, representatives made a point of discussing the acute labor shortage in Ozaukee County.

Although the emphasis was on education, not employee recruiting, most of the businesses hope their efforts will pay off in a few years when the eighth graders leave school and look for jobs.

"We hope to see a lot of these kids in the future," Jones said. "The work force shortage is there and we're trying to educate people about the manufacturing opportunities that are in their own back yard."

Right in front of the trees.

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