On the day when the groundhog is looking for his shadow, several dozen local companies took part in a unique 'job shadow day,' where they can get a look at the jobs that are available and which may be part of their futures, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
At Precision Mold & Tool Group, Vice President Domingo Auces played host to a group of Southwest ISD students, and he said many of them had never before thought about manufacturing as a possible career. He says many of the teenagers, when they do think about manufacturing, think of a job that is dirty and dull, which is exactly the opposite of what today's advanced manufacturing facilities are like.
"They are now really connecting how science, engineering, and tech actually connects with manufacturing," he said.Auces says the students are learning that manufacturing is not a dull job where you spend the whole say screwing one nut into one screw, but it is a very creative enterprise which involves shaping the things they use in their daily lives.
"When you sit down and you turn on your TV, and pick up your remote control, we probably made many of those parts," he said. "The electronics that are in that TV, we probably assembled those parts."
He says, especially after last year's Presidential campaign, many young people also think U.S. manufacturing is shrinking, when in fact, advanced, high tech manufacturing is one of the fastest growing sectors of the community, and also one of the best paying."We are making parts for every type of component you can think of," he said.
"Aerospace, things that go into satellites, things that you never notice, but you notice when they break."
Auces says a lot of teens got an eye-opener today to learn exactly what the possibilities of manufacturing are for a solid and well paying career in their futures.
More than two dozen companies and government agencies, participated in today's 'job shadow' day.