Michigan Works! Hosts Manufacturing Day Talent Tours—Virtually
October 2 - Forty-seven students from Fairview Schools and twenty from Vanderbilt Schools attended a Facebook Live Talent Tour at Springs Window Fashions in Grayling on October 2, 2020 in recognition of Manufacturing Day 2020. John Metts, Human Resource Manager, led the virtual tour and did his best to give students a glimpse of how his plant processes wood to produce wood blinds.
The plant’s steel rooftop in the main production area made it challenging to show the working machines up close because of weak wifi signal, but students were able to see from a distance.
John was pleased to be able to share his operations with the students and faculty and answer questions they posed to him about skill sets needed for entry level positions, education reimbursement, and how to stand out during an interview. Springs expressed interest in hosting more virtual tours to showcase the many opportunities at their company as well as the manufacturing industry as a whole.
Michigan Works! Youth staff were at each of the schools with the students, offering a pizza party during the Facebook Live Tour. After the tour, MW Staff answered additional student questions, discussed Michigan Works! services, and covered the online Pathfinder tool.
NAI in Gaylord used Microsoft TEAMS to have a virtual Manufacturing Day Talent Tour with 8 students from Vanderbilt School. Michigan Works! Youth Career Advisors were at the school, offering the students a pizza party and discussing MW services, programs, and the Pathfinder online tool. The students really enjoyed the tour, as they were able to interact with NAI staff and ask their own questions. Some of the questions were things like “what do you enjoy about your job” and each member from NAI team answered. NAI is interested in doing more of the virtual tours with other schools.