Link to manufacturing jobs needs strength

I was pleased to attend the recent event at Oakton Community College where Sen. Dick Durbin discussed his Community College to Career Fund Act. The Technology & Manufacturing Association of Illinois strongly supports this legislation as it promotes exactly the type of thing we do every day. We continuously work with community colleges to offer hands-on manufacturing training to supplement the courses they offer their students.

This model has been so successful that now Oakton Community College even offers credit hours to students enrolled in TMA courses. Many more community colleges will soon follow suit. It's all a part of TMA's "Advanced Manufacturing Career Highway" which begins with the "on-ramp" in high school, flows through community college and TMA training, and may culminate in a four-year technical degree from a university.

I was also pleased to see Congressman Brad Schneider in attendance at the Oakton event. Rep. Schneider has been a big supporter of manufacturing, and we appreciate his efforts in introducing the America Works Act, which has received bipartisan support from the Illinois delegation. The act creates a set of portable manufacturing credentials that workers can take with them throughout their careers.

These are not partisan issues; they are jobs and training issues. Our 1,000-member company organization supports legislators and candidates from both sides of the aisle. When our elected leaders are doing the right thing for business, we will acknowledge that. And, when we think they are not getting the job done, we will call them on that too.

Brian Panek

Northbrook

Chairman, Technology & Manufacturing Association of Illinois