Watch the Video: East Bay Manufacturing Day
“The value of Manufacturing Day is to expose young people to the possibility of making things.”–Randy Borden, Borden Lighting
In November of 2015, a collaborative effort between San Leandro, San Lorenzo, Hayward, and Castro Valley Unified School Districts, Eden Area ROP, the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce, Pilot City, the City of San Leandro, Chabot College, and the East Bay Career Pathways Consortium held the first East Bay Manufacturing Day. 454 eager students were shuttled between fourteen manufacturing businesses in San Leandro and Hayward where they 
were able to explore potential career paths on site, and learn valuable information with respect to the training and education required to launch a career in the industry.
“Manufacturing Day is a great event because it brings together all of the key elements that are necessary for preparing high school students for college and career.”–Jayne Salinger, Eden Area ROP
The event was a great success, much thanks to the local companies who participated: Borden Lighting, Coca-Cola, Halus Power Systems, Inland Metal Technologies, Kennerley-Spratling, Methods Machine Tools, Mr. Plastics, Nutek Corporation, Oro Loma Sanitary District, Peterson CAT, Plastikon, Scandic, Sugar Bowl Bakery, and Ultra Clean Technology. These are primarily Advanced Manufacturing companies where skilled 
programmers and engineers, akin to the ones so often snatched up by software manufacturers, are in high demand. This demand is expected to grow over the next five to ten years.
“Once the old guard is gone, it will be very, very difficult to replace them. So the value [of Manufacturing Day is] to expose fresh high school students and graduates to a career, that will take years to master, but they can do it now because there is still that talent in place to train them.”–Hale Foote, Scandic
The success of the event has created strong interest in East Bay Manufacturing Day 2016, and plans are in the works to align this event with National Manufacturing Day on October 7th. The School Districts, the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce, Pilot City, the City’s Office of Innovation and the Founders Circle will be key in organizing the 2016 event.
The manufacturing companies that participated in 2015 are excited to see the event happen again.
“We would love to be involved with Manufacturing Day again!”–Jason Warner, Oro Loma Sanitary District
For a comprehensive review of last year’s event, please take a moment to enjoy this video, produced by Derick Lee and Pilot City:
[…] of manufacturing approach retirement age. For the past two years, San Leandro has participated in East Bay Manufacturing Day, providing hundreds of students with the opportunity to observe first-hand and learn about various […]