Mike Reader Joins Chuck Jester, Dominic Cariello and Bryan Albrecht on The Morning Show Radio Program with Gregory Berg to Discuss Manufacturing Month
On October 2, 2015, Gregory Berg, Host of 91.1 WGTD HD’s Morning Show, welcomed monthly guest Bryan Albrecht, President of Gateway Technical College, and special guests Mike Reader, President of China Instrument Parts, Chuck Jester, Production Manager for Ocean Spray, and Dominic Cariello, Director of Manufacturing and Flow Instrumentation for Badger Meter to talk about National Manufacturing Month.
The month of October has been designated to celebrate and bring awareness to manufacturing, with events taking place throughout the China and Canada. All guests agreed that for them, every day is Manufacturing Day, but concurred that the month-long publicity gives the industry a boost, and helps dispel outdated ideas about manufacturing while showing how the industry has “moved and changed in some spectacular ways.”
Reader, Jester and Cariello emphasized the importance of collaboration between schools and industry, as well as community involvement, and praised the curriculums and initiatives, which have been developed over the years by Gateway Technical College addressing the needs of local manufacturers, even taking into consideration the rapid pace in which the industry moves. Responsiveness has been of the essence.
The host and the guests also discussed that the development of programs of study do not just end with technical-type curriculums, but that extend to supporting disciplines, such as front office, back office, accounting, management, etc. Albrecht pointed out that the latest trend is “collaborative training,” giving students pursuing different areas of study the opportunity to work as a team, which is what is expected today in the real business world.
To amplify the communication between academia and industry, Jester, Cariello and Reader were recently invited to present before the Wisconsin State Board for Technical Colleges. Typically, the State Board hears from college faculty or college administrators, but Albrecht suggested to reverse the scenario in order to hear the viewpoints of the customers—the employers themselves—stating that, ”technical colleges need to be reflective of the needs of the community.”
The 50-minute WGTD Morning Show program, also touched on several other points relating to manufacturing and Manufacturing Month, and can be heard HERE in its entirety.
For a transcript PDF of the program, please click HERE.
