alliantgroup is continually supporting innovation efforts and we were excited to attend the 2019 Gulf Coast Advanced Manufacturing Conference (GCAMC) as a sponsor. Hosted by Houston Community College, the GCAMC this year put technology front and center. alliantgroup was on hand with other industry luminaries and educators to discuss how innovation is pushing advanced manufacturing to new heights.
“The manufacturing field ranges from cars, food, computers and equipment. HCC is bringing together these different sectors to give them a chance to share their insights, challenges and opportunities.” -Ritu Raju, Ph.D. Interim Dean, Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence, Houston Community College
The keynote speaker this year was Nicholas T. Pinchuck, CEO and Board Chairman of Snap-On Incorporated and there were several other panels as well. Carolyn Lee, of The Manufacturing Institute, and Jason Mann, of Texas Injection molding, held an informative discussion on the current state of manufacturing
One of the panels we were most excited for was the talk on the Registered Apprenticeship Program. The panel entitled, Registered Apprenticeships: Meeting Your Talent Needs, touched on a topic very near and dear to our heart here at alliantgroup, helping American businesses hire top technical talent. We hear it from our manufacturing partners constantly, that there is simply not enough STEM educated technical workers entering the workforce out of college.
The panel discussed the U.S. Department of Labor’s Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP) as a means of developing a more skilled workforce. We love getting young people involved in the career of their dreams and we’ve strongly supported STEM education including through our Blue Heart Fund STEM Scholarship which has awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships to high school seniors who are pursuing a STEM degree.
Casey Curry, alliantgroup’s Director of Corporate Citizenship, was on hand at the conference to check out the IDEAStudio, a collaborative makerspace designed to foster creativity through providing tools for exploring and experimenting on creative designs.
The host of the GCAMC, Houston Community College, also happens to be alliantgroup’s higher education partner for the National Robotics League. Casey has led the charge on our support for the National Robotics League as another avenue for getting kids involved in STEM education and STEM careers.
The future looks bright in the advanced manufacturing industry and we learned a lot from this year’s conference. We’ll continue to do our part to help American businesses grow.
