The Substantial Rewards of Straight-Out-of-High-School Employment on Display this Week at Four Local Advanced Manufacturing Companies

The Substantial Rewards of Straight-Out-of-High-School Employment on Display this Week at Four Local Advanced Manufacturing Companies

Eager to hire for unfilled jobs, companies hope two days of tours will open young achievers’ eyes to manufacturing’s lucrative alternative to college debt

Cincinnati, Ohio (February 26, 2019) — Shifting the spotlight from Sunday night’s 91st Academy Awards, five local advanced manufacturing companies will roll out the red carpet this week to show Cincinnati Public School students the path to career stardom runs straight from the doors of high school to the manufacturing floor.

Advanced Manufacturing Industry Partners (AMIP) is an employer-led regional collaboration of over 240 members in Southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and Southeast Indiana. AMIP’s goal: change students’ perceptions of manufacturing and show them why employment in advanced manufacturing right out of high school is every bit as desirable and rewarding as a college degree.

On Thursday, February 28 and Friday, March 1, 80 students from the Cincinnati Public School district ranging in ages from 15 to 17 will tour one of four advanced manufacturing companies in the Greater Cincinnati area to see first-hand what employment right out of high school might look like – and pay like.

“The average compensation of a seasoned manufacturing employee in Ohio is $72,000 a year,” said AMIP Chair Amy Meyer. “The skills students need to get started in an advanced manufacturing career are available to them through the Career Technical Education (CTE) programs offered by their high schools. CTE allows students to come out of high school with the real-world skills that employers need, making them highly sought after.”

Cincinnati Public School officials are on-board with this plan.

“Cincinnati Public Schools is dedicated to exposing our students to the world of work to fulfill our promise that students will graduate on time prepared to pursue their chosen career path. Career-Based Learning opportunities such as job shadowing with AMIP helps students step out of the classroom into the world of work and experience what the career field is like for a day. Exposure Is key!” said Brittney Cousins Career-Based Learning Manager at Cincinnati Public Schools.

Meyer is Vice President of Corporate Development at Rhinestahl Corporation, one of the four area employers hosting tours for CPS students. The other companies participating are Monti Inc., Richards Industries, and VEGA.

“To be successful in advanced manufacturing will take hard work and dedication just as success in any other venture requires. It will also be clear that skills such as mathematics and English, as well as soft skills, are critical to success,” said Bill Metz, vice president of operations and engineering at Richards Industries.

Added Molly Fender, Vice President of Human Resources at Monti Inc., “We intend to expose young minds to jobs within the advanced manufacturing industry in hopes that we will spark an interest and in turn fill the talent pipeline.”

Co-CEO of VEGA John Kronenberger looks to these students as the future, “VEGA is proud to support initiatives that encourage students to consider careers in advanced manufacturing. Jobs at successful advanced manufacturing companies like VEGA are rewarding, fulfilling and engaging. Today’s students, like those at CPS, will be the employees who lead VEGA in the future, and we are honored to host this event for them today.”

On February 8, members of the AMIP participated in a roundtable discussion with U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, along with students from a local career technical education center on jobs and careers in manufacturing.

To the students at the roundtable, Portman extolled the advantages of work and study programs offered by local advanced manufacturers. “You can go to college. Rather than taking on $27,000 in debt, you can be making ten times that much,” he said. “These jobs pay well.”

In bottom-line terms, Portman told the students: “You can buy a car. You can buy a house, and not live in your parents’ basement.”

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About Advanced Manufacturing Industry Partnership (AMIP)
Advanced Manufacturing Industry Partnership (AMIP) is an employer-led collaboration of more than 240 members representing the Advanced Manufacturing Industry. The AMIP is funded and led by Partners for a Competitive Workforce, a strategic initiative of United Way of Greater Cincinnati. It also is affiliated with the National Manufacturing Association (NAM), the Ohio Manufacturing Association (OMA), the Manufacturing Institute (MI) and Dream It Do It OKI. To learn more about the AMIP, visit http://www.competitiveworkforce.com/advanced-manufacturing/.

About Monti Inc.
Monti Inc. is a custom electrical component supplier specializing in copper busbar manufacturing, copper fabrication, and complex electrical insulation fabrications to the tightest tolerances and highest quality control. We’ll also help you value engineer your part to shorten lead times while increasing the value of the component. Learn more at monti-inc.com.

About Rhinestahl Corporation
Rhinestahl Corporation is a privately held global company with headquarters located in Mason, Ohio, and multiple facilities worldwide. Since 1967, Rhinestahl has delivered on our customer’s toughest challenges. Whether it’s OEM turbine engine tooling, precision manufacturing or innovative design and build, Rhinestahl works closely with customers to provide timely, efficient, and effective solutions for their most complex tasks. Rhinestahl prides itself on its entrepreneurial culture and can-do attitude and was recently recognized as one of the area’s top 100 privately held companies by Deloitte. For more information, please visit https://www.rhinestahl.com.

About Richards Industries
Richards Industries is the parent company of six distinct industrial product lines: regulators and control valves from Jordan Valve; sanitary regulators and control valves from Steriflow Valve; ball valves and automated products from Marwin Valve; high pressure – extreme low flow regulators from LowFlow Valve; instrument valves and manifolds from Hex Valve; steam traps and steam specialty equipment from Bestobell Steam Traps. Key markets include chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical and food processing industries. Other sectors include paper products, tire and rubber, machinery and electrical equipment, transportation equipment and energy industries. Richards Industries has been named one of the Best Places to Work in Cincinnati for eight of the past nine years and continues its streak of never experiencing an employee lay-off. Learn more at www.richardsind.com.

About VEGA
VEGA is an international manufacturer of process measurement instrumentation for level, point level, pressure, density, and weight. Customers in over 80 countries benefit from the proximity and market expertise of VEGA, its subsidiaries and sales partners, who provide them with the tools and know-how for demanding measurement tasks in liquid and bulk solid applications. The company’s 1,250+ employees worldwide make the difference. Learn more at www.vega.com.

Contact: Kristine Glenn, (513) 317-3890, kglenn@fatcatcommunications.com