Marking its third year as a member of the National Association of Manufacturers’ (NAM) and Manufacturing Institute’s (MI) Dream It. Do It. program, Cooper Tire will connect with more than 10,000 students—primarily eighth graders—for Manufacturing Day (MFG Day) events throughout October.

Cooper will focus on the communities where the company has major facilities—Findlay, Ohio; Texarkana, Ark. and Tupelo, Miss. In addition to participating in community-wide efforts, the company will host its own Cooper Manufacturing Experience events. These highly interactive, hands-on events have been planned by the company’s Dream Team, a group of 40 employees from across Cooper who work with students and others all year long in
efforts to educate and improve the image of careers in manufacturing to help strengthen the future workforce pipeline.

“Manufacturing is technology driven, fast paced and offers exciting career opportunities, but it can be challenging to attract employees. Many students today are not focused on careers in manufacturing and, unfortunately, great jobs go unfilled,” said John Bollman, Cooper’s Senior Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer. “Cooper is working to attract students to manufacturing careers by giving young people hands-on experience that mimics what it’s like to work in the tire industry. Over the past several years we have reached nearly 30,000 students through these events, and we hope as they think about a career path in the future they will consider jobs in manufacturing and some of the great opportunities available at Cooper.”

Abbey Kindler, Senior Engineering Technician for Cooper Tire’s Global Technical Center, said, “I joined Cooper’s Dream Team because I have found an amazing career in manufacturing, and I want to show young people there is so much more to the industry than meets the eye. Through this experience I am able to share my career path, answer questions, and debunk myths about working in the industry. It is important that students, as well as their parents and teachers, are shown the wide array of possibilities offered through manufacturing. It can truly be the ticket to a rewarding career.”

While MFG Day is officially Oct. 6 this year, the Cooper Manufacturing Experience will be offered to students throughout the month of October.

Findlay, Ohio, Oct. 3-6
Texarkana, Ark., Oct. 11-13
Tupelo, Miss., Oct. 3-5 and Oct. 19-20

Students who attend the Cooper Manufacturing Experience in all three communities will be encouraged to share their experiences through social media using #CooperCareers and #MFGDay17, which will expand awareness of manufacturing to family and friends across the U.S.

Tagged: John Bollman

Cooper marks third year in Dream It. Do It. program