Cooper Tire to Hold Events to Attract Over 10000 Students

In order to mark its second year as a member of the National Association of Manufacturers’ (NAM) and Manufacturing Institute’s (MI) Dream It. Do It. program, Cooper Tire will hold Manufacturing Day (MFG Day) Events to reach out to over 10000 students during the month of October. The students will be mostly eight graders and will learn more about careers in the manufacturing sector during the events through interactions with Cooper employees.

The school outreach programs will be conducted in the communities where Cooper has a presence like Findlay in Ohio and Texarkana in Arkansas. In addition to these efforts, the company will also be hosting its own Cooper Manufacturing Experience events, events that have been planned by a Dream Team of 40 Cooper employees drawn from all departments who will work with students and others throughout the year to improve the image of careers in manufacturing and educate youngsters about the sector to draw more people in this age group to manufacturing.

Talking about the initiative, Brenda Harmon, Cooper’s Chief Human Resources Officer said that students need to learn more about manufacturing in an interactive setting if they are to think about a career in manufacturing. They need to understand that today’s manufacturing industry is very exciting and technology-driven. In factories across the United States, many factory jobs go unfilled as young people do not have an interest in this sector and this perception needs to be changed.

Elizabeth Taylor, a Chemical Engineer for Cooper in Tupelo, said that she was excited to be a part of Cooper’s Dream Team it gives her an opportunity to have a positive impact on young people in different ways. She said, “Manufacturing today is very dynamic and technical and it is important for kids, their parents and teachers to understand this. Our Dream Team brings people who actually work in manufacturing out to schools, universities and other venues where students can get to know us and hear about our personal experiences in manufacturing while also learning about manufacturing and careers in the field.”

While MFG Day is officially Oct. 7 this year, the Cooper Manufacturing Experience will be offered to students throughout the month of October.