Five Illinois manufacturers receive national recognition
Five local manufacturers have earned national recognition for their work in creating programs to train the next generation.
The five companies, Felsomat USA Inc. of Schaumburg, North American Lighting of Paris, Principal Manufacturing Corporation of Broadview, Richard Wolf Medical Instruments Corp. of Vernon Hills and Wittenstein North America of Bartlett, were honored for their exemplary work in initiating apprenticeships that prepare youth for in-demand occupations.
The National Fund for Workforce Solutions, a national network promoting economic development and opportunity, recently honored nine manufacturers across the United States as Young Adult Employer Champions for promoting Pathways to Apprenticeship. Of the nine award recipients, five were Illinois manufacturers participating in Industry Consortium for Advanced Technical Training Apprenticeships, a workforce development initiative led by the IMA Education Foundation in partnership with the German-American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest and William Rainey Harper College.
"We're particularly humbled by these companies being singled out by the National Fund," said IMA President & CEO Greg Baise. "It reflects the high quality that ICATT apprenticeships are bringing to the marketplace to help companies adopt a long-range development plan that fulfills their workforce needs."
"The National Fund's approach to promoting regional prosperity centers on meeting the needs of employers, while at the same time preparing unemployed and underemployed workers for careers with living wages," National Fund President & CEO Fred Dedrick said. "The National Fund is proud to celebrate employer leaders who have the vision to recognize young adults' potential, the commitment to help prepare and hire them in good jobs."
The Illinois Manufacturers' Association is the only statewide association dedicated exclusively to advocating, promoting and strengthening the manufacturing sector in Illinois. The IMA is the oldest and largest state manufacturing trade association in the United States, representing nearly 4,000 companies and facilities.