In order to give students an idea of what other options they have besides going to college, Portage High School teamed up with the Portage Economic Development Corporation (PEDCO) to hold a Manufacturing Day at Portage High School.
Manufacturing Day was held on October 3, 2013, which was also the National Manufacturing Day. It was sponsored by PEDCO. The point of the event was to make students and the community aware of different manufacturers that exist, even in just Portage.
“I’m from Northwest Indiana, and they’re naming places off that I had no idea were even from Northwest Indiana. These are all Portage ones, and there’s just a small number that are here,” PHS Assistant Principal Michael Spagna said.
According to Spagna, it was also to teach students employable skills.
Spagna hoped it would show students that they need to be on time to work, they would need to get alone with co-workers and even that they have to pass background tests for jobs.
When students went to the Manufacturing day, they were given a sheet put together by PEDCO. As they walked around the tables set up by manufacturers, they were shown what is that each business did. If students found interest in any of the manufacturers, there are many vocational programs PHS offers that they can go into.
The event was open to freshmen during the school day and then to the community from 2:45-4:00 in the PHS field house.
“I guess the reason they chose freshman was to kind of plant the seed in them. If this is something that you want, we have our vocational programs,” Spagna said.
However, manufacturing day was not a job fair. Adults could not apply for jobs there, but if they found something interesting, they could go out on their own and apply.
There were several manufacturers there, including the US Steel Mill, MonoSol and Carmeuse. According to Spagna, next year, Portage High School is planning to have several more manufacturers attend.
“The idea is to give the students and the community the knowledge that all these businesses and manufacturers exist,” Spagna said.