Gov. Tom Wolf announced Wednesday that the Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center (DVIRC) will receive $110,000 in Manufacturing PA Training-to-Career funding to increase the number of participants in the educational competition, ‘What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?’ (WSCM) in Bucks, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties.
The competition matches teams with local manufacturing businesses. Student filmmakers then create videos highlighting products, interviewing staff, and showing what it would be like to work for the company.
“More and more students have a growing interest in manufacturing employment because of innovative and interactive programs like ‘What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?’ Wolf said. “We are proud to support the creative efforts being made by Pennsylvania teachers, students, and manufacturing companies as they collaborate to illustrate the opportunities available in this industry.”
The new funding will help increase the number of teams participating in WSCM from 28 to 40 this year. It supports outreach to schools and businesses, professional services and consultations, trainings, equipment and supplies, and more.
“The commonwealth’s support for ‘What’s So Cool About Manufacturing’ allows us to manage and promote the program for another year to demonstrate to the future workforce the importance of manufacturing in the region,” DVIRC Executive Vice President Tony Girifalco said. “With support from the Montgomery and Bucks County Workforce Investment boards and the Manufacturing Alliance of Bucks and Montgomery Counties, we’re pushing hard to increase participation to 40 teams—a nearly 50 percent increase over last year. Companies love it, students love it, and parents and teachers love it, so anything we can do to build more interest in and support for manufacturing and manufacturing careers, we are glad to do.”