July 22, 2019 – The Trump administration this week is recognizing IPC – Association Connecting Electronics Industries® and several of its member companies for their efforts to expand the skilled workforce.  

On Tuesday, Chris Pilkerton, Acting Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), will visit workers on the factory floor at Calumet Electronics in Calumet, Michigan and later take part in a roundtable discussion at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan, focusing on workforce issues that affect the U.S. electronics industrial base. Participants will focus on what must be done by business, government, and other organizations to provide the right kinds of educational opportunities at all levels, from K-12 through college and career.

Then on Thursday, the White House is convening an event on the one-year anniversary of President Trump’s Executive Order to develop a national strategy to expand the skilled workforce in key industries. IPC strongly supports such efforts and over the past year has made unprecedented, multi-million-dollar investments in its already-extensive educational programs, including trainings and valuable certifications for adult workers; new university chapters and electronics courses; and new curricula and outreach efforts aimed at students in middle and high school. The White House event will be attended by employees and executives from four IPC member companies:  Calumet Electronics (including a young woman who may be one the youngest engineers in our industry); Summit Interconnect of Anaheim, California; Green Circuits of San Jose, California; and STI Electronics of Madison, Alabama.

Advance quote: “As a leader in electronics industry education, training, and certification, IPC is proud to join with the Trump administration and our private sector colleagues in efforts to expand America’s skilled workforce,” said IPC President and CEO John Mitchell. “A chronic shortage of skilled workers is one of the most difficult challenges facing our industry in the United States and worldwide. We are totally committed to expanding and improving our industry’s efforts to engage young people and train American workers with the skills they need to be successful in this industry.”

More resources available: IPC can offer interviews, photos, and more background on these events and topics. Online information is available on the websites of IPC (for adult education programs) and the IPC Educational Foundation (for programs aimed at grades K-12).

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