Latest news with #St.PaulCollege
Associated Press
7 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
3M Works To Support Skilled Trades Through Community Partnerships and Training
Originallly published on 3M News Center The SkillsUSA National Signing Day at St. Paul College in St. Paul, Minnesota, set out to generate some of the same excitement for collegiate athletes when they sign their letter of intent to play for a team. Instead of signing on to a sports team, however, dozens of students signed letters of intent for job offers, apprenticeships, or advanced technical training. They were cheered on by their instructors, fellow students and friends. The event highlighted the importance of skilled career paths that are essential to America's future. Amy Vega, who signed a letter of intent to attend St. Paul College's culinary arts program, said the signing day made her feel like she was 'really committing to the program.' 'I think today was pretty special,' Amy said. 'It's awesome that we're doing this and I'm happy and proud to do it. I feel like it's important to have people who want to work in these industries.' Beyond the excitement of events like SkillsUSA Signing Day, there's real urgency behind the effort to get more students to consider a career in the skilled trades, including those in advanced manufacturing. The National Association of Manufacturers reports that the skilled trades gap could result in 2.1 million unfilled manufacturing jobs by 2030. Original research conducted by 3M in partnership with Morning Consult, found that three-quarters of those surveyed view manufacturing jobs as having a positive impact on the economy. Respect for those who work manufacturing jobs is high at 78%, and 78% also support the creation of more training opportunities to fill those jobs. 3M's commitment to helping close that coming gap includes efforts to interest students in considering those careers as early as middle and high school. Since 2017, its Manufacturing and Academic Partnerships (MAP) program has supported as many as 5,000 students in building the necessary skills for the future of manufacturing work. It's a hyper-local approach to meet the needs of communities where 3M manufacturing sites are located. 3M's MAP program equips schools with cutting-edge mechatronics equipment, enabling students to explore skilled trades and manufacturing careers. In collaboration with the National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3), the company also ensures instructors are trained in the latest technologies, providing students with pathways to scholarships and essential skills for future success. 3M recently made new investments in classrooms in Red Wing, Minnesota; Menomonie, Wisconsin; and Indianapolis. The 3M MAP program includes community partnerships with GPS Ed, FESTO, NC3 and Heart of America. Heart of America, a non-profit organization that transforms learning spaces, worked with 3M to design and build the 'Future Makers Lab by 3M' at Red Wing High School and Menomonie High School. 'Heart of America knows how important career readiness is to a student's education, and spaces like these lead the way in getting young people ready to get a good job with a sustainable income,' said Jill Hardy Heath, President and CEO, Heart of America. 'Partners like 3M see the value in bringing engineering, robotics, and mechatronics into high schools—and we love that it inspires kids to dream big!' Michael Stroik, 3M's vice president of community impact, says the company is excited to play a role in developing the next generation of skilled workers. 'We're uniquely positioned to share what the future of work looks like in manufacturing,' said Stroik. 'We share the technology, provide scholarships, and offer support for instructors to get professional development in the world of mechatronics, training, and curriculum development.' Another way 3M is encouraging students to consider jobs in the skilled trades is through 3M's Safety Roadshow, which features a 90-foot semitrailer equipped with hands-on training experiences in robotics and personal protective equipment (PPE) from its Personal Safety Division. This spring, the truck visited schools in Alabama, Arkansas, and Missouri, and there are stops planned in Minnesota, Indiana, Kentucky and Texas throughout 2025. Visit 3BL Media to see more multimedia and stories from 3M
Miami Herald
20-05-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
As US sets sights on more manufacturing jobs, 3M tries to boost flagging worker pipeline
V Wenham started college with plans for an English degree. Now the St. Paul poet makes her living as a welder at Advanced Exhaust Solutions. "I took a metal arts class, which I loved, and my professor encouraged me to pursue welding," said Wenham, 21, who graduated from St. Paul College on Saturday. "It really changed my life." Long lacking workers, America's skilled trades and manufacturers need to hear more stories like Wenham's. A few million more. At the beginning of the year, there were half a million manufacturing job openings around the country, according to federal data. By 2033, there could be 1.9 million unfilled manufacturing jobs in the U.S., a Deloitte and Manufacturing Institute study found. A wave of retirements depleting the workforce will fuel the gap between jobs and qualified applicants. As will the promised boom of more stateside manufacturing from President Donald Trump's trade policies. There might not be enough trained or willing workers ready for the jobs that will already be available in manufacturing and skilled trades in the coming years, let alone if tariffs work as intended. "If the number of people entering and graduating from degree programs that prepare them for high-skill manufacturing trades does not accelerate, the talent gap could widen," the Deloitte study found. "Some manufacturers are taking an active role - and the lead - in addressing talent challenges." 3M senses the urgency. Even after layoffs in recent years and advances in automation, the company routinely has hundreds of job postings at its plants around the country. The Maplewood-based manufacturer recently donated $500,000 to help remodel and outfit two Red Wing High School classrooms for robotics and advanced manufacturing labs, which will be open to all students starting this fall. "How it looks, how it feels, our sense of that is important as we think about some of the trends we see about perceptions of manufacturing," said Michael Stroik, 3M's vice president of community relations. "So we can say to those students, 'Hey, these are exciting fields that you can go into.'" That mindset serves 3M, which makes safety equipment in Red Wing, to build its own talent pipeline amid a broader culture that emphasizes four-year degrees. Stroik said he is seeing more openness and support from school officials, parents and students about going into the trades and manufacturing. The data is mixed. While the number of bachelor's degrees continues to rise in the U.S., the tally of associate degrees issued every year has remained flat since 2011. Certifications rose dramatically during the pandemic, however, and actually exceeded the number of two-year degrees awarded in 2022. "It's push and pull," Stroik said. "The magnitude of it, millions of jobs, keeps me up at night. What built my confidence is getting out to Red Wing and talking to the instructors and seeing the excitement in students who are very clearly going to change the world someday." Many manufacturers are investing in workforce development in Minnesota to boost training efforts from industry groups and governments. Duluth-based Cirrus Aircraft runs its own Cirrus University training program, and window-and-door-manufacturer Marvin worked to bring a mechatronics program to Warroad. Even companies that aren't publicly acting on the issue are probably internally discussing it. Attracting and retaining workers has been a top issue for manufacturers for many years in Enterprise Minnesota's annual state of manufacturing survey. The same is true nationally, though trade policy uncertainty topped the list of concerns to start 2025 in the National Association of Manufacturers quarterly survey. Stroik wants to see more collaboration, a sort of "rising tides lifts all boats" approach across the industry. "It's bigger than one company," he said. For 3M, the company's workforce development efforts extend beyond traditional manufacturing positions. Welders, electricians and others are all necessary to build and maintain machinery. Plus, 3M's auto parts, construction safety equipment and other divisions benefit from helping customers of those businesses fill jobs. The chasm between jobs and applicants is just as great with skilled trades as it is in manufacturing. About 30% of electricians will reach retirement age in the next decade, according to a McKinsey study. The churn in welders will be staggering in the coming years. "We're controlling what we can control," said Garfield Bowen a vice president of government affairs at 3M. "We need to be relentless about doing everything we can to fill this gap." 3M sponsored a "signing day" for skilled trades students at St. Paul College earlier this month. Among the students celebrating their commitment to a technical career was Mike Blackwood, who is starting his electrician apprenticeship with the Minneapolis local of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers this month. "I've had a lot of jobs," he said, "but never a career." Blackwood, 37, initially thought it would be too dangerous when he was deciding between trades. But he took the chance: "I've discovered the love of my life." Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
CBS News
04-04-2025
- General
- CBS News
Minnesota sisters from Myanmar raise money for earthquake relief in homeland
The death toll of the Southeast Asia earthquake has climbed to more than 3,100 people. In Myanmar, rescue teams are searching the rubble for any signs of the more than 200 people still missing. As recovery efforts continue, a group here in the Twin Cities is doing all it can to help those overseas. The moment a 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar was when these St. Paul sisters had enough. "I couldn't even believe it, what was going on. The more I look at it, the more overwhelming it is," said Mirian Seng Bu, who lives in St. Paul. Mirian and her sisters Ruth, Margaret and Mary are all 'Kachin,' a Tibeto-Burman group in northern Myanmar, also known as Burma. The family chose Minnesota as home after the coup d'état. So, while consuming headlines showing a death toll of 3,000-plus in and around their homeland... "Me and my sisters here just said, 'We cannot sit still like this,' and we just started coming up with the fundraising idea" said Mirian. An idea now showing over $6,000 raised on GoFundMe and a chunk raised outside of the platform. "What we are really making sure is that all of the donations will go straight to the victims out there," Mirian told WCCO. They're partnering with an Anglican archbishop whom the family is close with and a leader of a youth philanthropist organization who's already helped in situations just like the following: "They just rescued a girl who was trapped over 120 hours in a hotel in Mandalay," Mirian added. And since the sisters can't be there to rescue... "Let's just speak up on behalf of my country," Mirian said. "We people never give up easily, I believe in my people. They'll do their best to rebuild our future again." The sisters have all studied at St. Paul College and hope their fundraising efforts will go a long way.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hundreds of protestors gather at Minnesota Capitol in opposition to Trump policies
Protesters, bundled against the cold and waving American flags, gathered at the Capitol in St. Paul on Wednesday. The crowd, estimated to be at around a thousand, rallied against the policies of President Donald Trump, showing opposition to a variety of actions, including mass deportations, a proposed deal to send prisoners to a "mega-prison" in El Salvador, anti-trans executive orders, the implementation of ideas outlined in Project 2025, and the actions of billionaire Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The rally, dubbed the "50501 movement," a shorthand for 50 protests in 50 states in one day, echoed others taking place in New York City, Des Moines, Madison, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and many other cities. The crowd, predominantly comprised of anti-Trump protestors, marched from St. Paul College to the Capitol at midday. A few scattered Trump supporters also attended the rally, per reports. Though protestors had a wide array of issues, they were united by a mutual concern at the flurry of actions taken since Trump returned to office less than three weeks ago. As the protests took place across the country, Democratic representatives are raising alarm over Musk, the richest man in the world and close associate of the president. Musk and DOGE took control of government computer systems and buildings over the weekend, gaining access to federal data, personal data on government employees, and financial systems, according to multiple reports. Musk has been termed a "special government employee" by the White House, a title that allows individuals to work 130 days per year without being a full-time employee. It is also a designation that shields individuals from the same transparency required of federal employees. On Wednesday, Congressional Democrats tried, and failed, to subpoena Musk, per Politico. A separate bill was introduced to block Musk from attaining new federal contracts. "After more than $20 billion in federal contracts, there's no way Musk can be objective in what he's doing," said Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), who introduced the bill.
