With more than 50 years operating in the community, the Cooper Texarkana plant is one of the area's leading employers and wants to stay that way. As the workforce ages and employees retire, it's vital for Cooper and all manufacturers to consider where the workforce of the future will come from and how jobs will be filled with qualified individuals well into the future. It's important for our community's quality of life as vibrant employers who provide jobs and give back to the community as great corporate citizens.
"Manufacturing is the backbone of our economy, and we all should be concerned about the supply of future talent with the desire and capability to make the products that keep our economy strong," said Scott Cole, Plant Manager for Cooper's Texarkana facility.
"It's not just the demographics of the aging workforce working against us, we also have a generation of young people who have been steered away from manufacturing or at least not encouraged to explore good jobs in manufacturing that may or may not require a college or technical degree. As a result, hundreds of great jobs in manufacturing go unfilled across the country as some young adults find themselves unemployed or underemployed and possibly saddled with significant college debt.
"We have jobs at Cooper Texarkana for those with a good work ethic and a desire to learn-with or without a college degree-and we must be working with parents, educators and community leaders to help students understand the wide range of opportunities that exist within Cooper and manufacturing in general. If we want students to think about a career in manufacturing, we need to help them understand how exciting and technology-driven today's manufacturing industry really is," he said.
"Like many manufacturers, we are finding it more challenging to attract potentially qualified employees," said Cole. "There are multiple reasons, but one is the fact that students today are not often directed toward careers in manufacturing. Through The Manufacturing Institute's Dream It. Do It. initiative, we are working to change that perception toward the positive in young students who are deciding their future career.
In October, Cooper joined "Dream It. Do It." becoming part of a network of organizations in the U.S. that share the goal of enhancing the image of careers in manufacturing among youth and addressing the widening skills gap in the nation's manufacturing workforce pipeline. In Cooper's first year of involvement, the company focused its efforts on National Manufacturing Day events for middle school students, as this is a critical age when young people are forming their first opinions about future careers. In all, more than 4,000 eighth-grade students participated in highly interactive events hosted by Cooper Texarkana that involved a wide range of Cooper employees from researchers and engineers who design, develop and test tires to tire builders, production workers and facility maintenance personnel.
Throughout the year, Cooper's "Dream Team" of volunteers will execute multiple programs in local communities, including children's mentoring efforts, teaching in local middle schools using interactive manufacturing-related curriculum, and engaging in a number of community-based efforts to drive broad awareness about careers in manufacturing.
In Texarkana, the Dream Team and others hosted the Cooper Tire Manufacturing Experience at the Texarkana Convention Center in 2015 for approximately 1,100 eighth-grade students. Students experienced what it is like on a manufacturing floor by learning how to measure and place building components, visually inspect products and use hand tools. A local technical school also provided information to students about skilled trades occupations similar to those at Cooper.
For more information on jobs at Cooper, visit coopertirecareers.com.