Indiana Could See Less Federal Transportation Funding (full video)
Inside INdiana Business
Posted: February 27, 2012

A glitch in the federal highway transportation bill making its way through the U.S. House of Representatives could mean less funding for projects in Indiana. Conexus Indiana Vice President David Holt says in its current form the bill increases the percentage of funding, but decreases the dollar amount available to the state. In an interview with Inside INdiana Business Television, Holt says the state would have to reduce the number of projects by about $38 million per year.

Holt says the potential funding crunch could lengthen the process for initiatives such as I-69.

He says work is underway to find a solution to the glitch. Holt says if a fix is secured by Indiana's Congressional delegation then it would be "a great bill."

Holt says the proposal creates a five year stability window for transportation planning, lessens bureaucracy and streamlines processes, which should speed up projects.

Click here to view full article and video.

$100 K Manufacturing Jobs (full article) 
By: Parija Kavilanz
Posted: February 27
 

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- What's uncool about a $100,000 factory job? These days not much. In fact, factory jobs -- once considered back-breaking and low-paying -- have become high-tech and high-salaried.

Still young people don't get it, say factory owners, who can't find enough skilled workers.

"When I was an apprentice in the late '70s, kids were dying to get into manufacturing. There were plenty of factory jobs," said Joe Sedlak, a machinist who owns the Chesapeake Machine Company in Baltimore. "There are jobs for the taking today. But kids don't want them."

Stereotypes about factory jobs still persist. And the media isn't helping, factory owners complain.

"On TV, kids don't see many positive images of manufacturing," said Bill Mach, president of Mach Mold, a manufacturer of plastics molds in Benton Harbor, Mich. A show will have a scene with "an old dark building with a bird flying out of it, and something bad happens."

Scott Paul, executive director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, agreed. "Pop culture has a big impact on young people," he said, adding that the only recent positive pop culture depiction of manufacturing that he can think of has been in Iron Man.

The industry needs an image boost, and young people need to get educated about high-skilled factory jobs, experts said.

An aspiring machinist -- a popular factory job -- can start training at 18 and then do a one- or two-year manufacturing apprenticeship. In five years, he or she could be making more than $50,000. In 10 years, that could double to $100,000.

Not a bad salary for a 28-year-old.

"If you're really good at your work, you could remain employed for a very long time, because there are so few of us," said Sedlak.

Sedlak's top worker makes $30 an hour. And annual pay at his company ranges between $70,000 and $80,000 with overtime. In 31 years, only three workers have retired from his factory.

Still, with almost 13 million unemployed Americans, including many high school graduates, he is struggling to fill positions.

A recent Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte report underscores that. Manufacturers currently have 600,000 vacancies nationwide, it said.

"When we pushed manufacturing out of the country, we pushed job opportunities out," said Sedlak.

The downward spiral that followed was swift. With jobs gone, schools ended vocational classes. Kids lost interest in manufacturing. Many states stopped sponsoring apprentice programs in factories.

Last week, Justin Lavanway, 17, and two of his high school buddies, toured Mach Mold to learn more about manufacturing and its jobs.

His grandfather was a career machinist with Whirlpool. "I saw that it was a pretty stable career for him," said Lavanway. "That's why I'm keeping my options open."

But his friends, Joseph Johnson, 18, who is thinking about a job in medical services, and Charlie Leaf, 18, who wants pursue a career in psychiatry, are not interested in manufacturing.

"The public school system tells students that we have to go to college to be successful," said Johnson. "Ever since you're young, you hear that's what you have to do to achieve the American dream."

Johnson and Leaf also don't think manufacturing offers stable careers.

Mach hears this often from young people, even through manufacturing is a deep-rooted profession through generations of families in Southwest Michigan.

And it's just not true, he said. "I have 40 people in my plant. Half have been there for 15 to 25 years."

"There's no easy answer to how we can change manufacturing's image problem," said Paul. Companies themselves have to be up to that challenge, he said.

One idea is to turn to pop culture, said Paul.

"Maybe we need someone cool like Clint Eastwood to say, 'Go work in factories' as a follow up to his Super Bowl Chrysler ad.

Northwest Indiana to Host Manufacturing Event (full article)
By: Center of Workforce Innovations
Posted: February 16, 2012

The National Association of Manufacturers will hold an event in northwest Indiana aimed at educating parents, students and teachers about careers in manufacturing and logistics.  The organization says the program is designed to correct a "false perception" about factory and warehouse jobs.

The Dream It Do It Campaign, developed by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), is expanding its initiative into Northwest Indiana with the local High School Champion Initiative through the partnership of the Center of Workforce Innovations and Conexus Indiana. The objective of the High School Champion initiative is to instill career awareness among Northwest Indiana parents, students, and teachers related to the manufacturing and logistics industries.

According to extensive research by NAM and others, the main impediment to young people entering the workforce, which boasts a large number of high-tech and manufacturing-based in-demand careers, is a false perception in regards to the kind of jobs in factories and warehouses and skill level requirements.

Individuals from education and economic development are encouraged to attend an event on Tuesday, February 28th, addressing the workforce challenges in the manufacturing industry and the impact education has.

The event will take place at Sullair in Michigan City and will provide an update on the Conexus curriculum and why NAM endorses. Event will cover the job skills challenges Sullair is addressing; power of WorkKeys ® assessments; and an introduction of the local High School Champions sharing what they will be doing to support the initiative. Presenters include: Claudia Cummings-Conexus Indiana, Mark Maassel-Northwest Indiana Forum, Chancellor Jim Dworkin-Purdue North Central, Dr. Brent Martinson-Hobart High School, Henry Brooks-Sullair Corporation, Linda Woloshansky-Center of Workforce Innovations.

Partners for this event include Conexus Indiana, the Northwest Indiana Workforce Board, the Center of Workforce Innovations, and BP Amoco.

Source: Center of Workforce Innovations

Mayors Celebrate White House Science Fair Participants (full article)
By: Irene Hsu
Posted: February 7, 2012

Website: www.whitehouse.gov

Today, President Obama hosted the second White House Science Fair celebrating the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country. The President also announced key additional steps that the Administration and its partners are taking to prepare 100,000 effective math and science teachers and to meet the urgent need to train one million additional STEM graduates over the next decade.

Mayors from around the country wrote in to congratulate and celebrate the accomplishments of students representing their cities.

Petersburg, Indiana

Jessica D’Esposito, Colton Newton and Anna Woolery from Petersburg, Indiana represented the Pike Central High School InvenTeam that won a grant from the Lemelson - Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Program to develop a lightweight, portable disaster relief shelter, which could be used after disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, or tornadoes to house people who have been displaced.

Petersburg Mayor Jon Craig: “We are continually amazed by the unbelievable accomplishments of our Pike Central High School, Project Lead The Way program.  Their inventive minds are unlimited in what they can accomplish.  These young adults are our community’s best asset and the key for our whole region in reducing brain drain and promoting entrepreneurship.” 

Leesburg, Virginia

Eleven-year old Jack Dudley of Stone Hill Middle School and Sydney Dayyani of Belmont Ridge Middle School from Leesburg, Virginia were part of a team that designed a military helmet to protect soldiers from traumatic brain injuries on the battlefield due to improvised explosive devices.

Leesburg Mayor Kristen Umstattd: "We are so proud of Sydney and Jack for their commitment to the field of science and we are thrilled for them that the White House has selected them for its Science Fair. We know these students will continue to excel, not just this year, but throughout their future endeavors."

Ames, Iowa

A group of middle school-aged Girl Scouts from Ames, Iowa, including Gaby Dempsey, Mackenzie Gewell, and Kate Murray developed a patent-pending prosthetic hand device, winning them the inaugural Global Innovation Award at the FIRST LEGO League competition, beating out nearly 200 other submissions. 

Ames Mayor Ann Campbell: “We as a community are thrilled that these Ames students – Gaby, Mackenzie and Kate – are being recognized in the highest place in the nation!”

Phoenix, AZ

Fourteen year old Joey Hudy from Phoenix, Arizona invented an Extreme Marshmallow Cannon and an LED Cube Microcontroller Shield, which he has exhibited at Maker Faires in New York, San Francisco, and Detroit.  He received 2 Editors Choice Awards from Maker Faire, and has started a small business selling the microcontroller (Arduino) shield kits on several websites.  

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton: “We are honored to have Joey Hudy representing Phoenix in Washington. Investing in math and science in our schools is critical to our future economic success. Joey is a shining example of what that investment can lead to.”

Cupertino, CA

Angela Zhang, a seventeen year old senior from Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, California, won the $100,000 Grand Prize in the Individual category of the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology for using nanotechnology to eradicate cancer stem cells.

Cupertino Mayor Mark Santoro: “Cupertino students never cease to impress me.  Angela Zhang is humble and soft spoken, but discovering a cure for cancer does the talking for her.”

You can read about all of the White House Science Fair participants and checking out what President Obama had to say after viewing the student’s exhibits.