Out of Work Due to COVID? Learn Manufacturing Skills - Susan Poeton
According to the Department of Labor, 498,000 leisure and hospitality jobs disappeared due to COVID-19 last December. As we begin to see the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, maybe many of these jobs will come back. But maybe there’s a brighter light ahead for these displaced workers, many of which were employed in the low-wage restaurant and bar sector.
A high-paying career in the American advanced manufacturing industry.
During the same period when so many lost their jobs, U.S. manufacturing grew by 38,000 jobs. While some of that growth can be attributed to biomedical manufacturers ramping up because of COVID, the fact is biomedical was booming even before the pandemic and manufacturers across the board are desperate to find skilled workers.
The question becomes, how does a barkeep or waiter acquire the skills for a high-paying job with long-term career potential? Particularly if you are out of work without the means to pay for trade school or community college.
Consider this City of Fremont, Calif. Economic Development pilot initiative. The Earn and Learn Fremont (ELF) program connects Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)-eligible adult job seekers impacted by COVID with manufacturers that need local talent. In addition to skills training, potential new hires are provided with additional support resources such as childcare and transportation to support their career shift.
A perfect example of government and industry working together to help people, build U.S. manufacturing capacity, and develop the local economy. The proverbial win-win.
We couldn’t be more happy to cover innovative job-creation skills training such as this at Industry Today. You can read the entire article on Changing Careers: Pathways to Advanced Manufacturing here.
