IMEC To Present the FUTURE OF WORKFORCE: Training and Retaining Symposium at John Wood Community College

By Editor | February 22, 2023 |

The symposium, designed to help provide solutions for the impending worker shortage and skills gaps, will be held March 15th through March 16th.
The Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center (IMEC) has partnered with John Wood Community College, Knapheide, Illinois Manufacturers’ Association (IMA), and the Illinois Defense Network (IDN) to present the FUTURE OF WORKFORCE: Training and Retaining Symposium on March 15th and 16th at John Wood Community College and Knapheide in Quincy, IL. Participants will learn about viable solutions to overcome workforce issues, including recruiting and retaining strong talent, during the symposium, which will include a roundtable led by industry experts, breakout sessions, and a tour of Knapheide’s facilities.
The FUTURE OF WORKFORCE: Training and Retaining Symposium will begin with opening remarks from IMEC, IMA, and John Wood Community College.
Following the opening remarks, presenters and discussion leaders will include Paola Velasquez (Director of DEI in Manufacturing, IMEC), Sarah Hartwick (Vice President of Education & Workforce Policy at IMA and the Executive Director of the IMA Education Foundation), Blanche Shoup (Director of the Workforce Office of Western Illinois), Chris Russell (Vice President of Operations, Knapheide) Jeremy Smith (Technical Specialist, IMEC), and Angelika Nowosadko (Technical Specialist, IMEC).
Topics covered during the symposium include retention, workforce development, continuous improvement, automation, and company culture. Lunch will be provided. March 15th of the symposium will be located at John Wood Community College in their auditorium (1301 S 48th St, Quincy, IL 63205), with March 16th being held at Knapheide’s Manufacturing Company (1848 Westphalia Strasse, Quincy, IL 62305).
Below is the tentative schedule for the symposium:
March 15th:
8:30am – 9:30am: Registration
9:30am – 10:30am: Welcome – IMEC, IMA, and John Wood Community College
10:30am -12:00pm: Best Practices for Training and Retaining – Roundtable
12:00pm – 1:00pm: Lunch and Networking
1:00pm – 3:10pm: Breakout Groups
1:00pm – 2:00pm: Breakout Session 1 – Fostering DEI to Elevate Company Culture and Drive Advancements Across your Organization – Paola Velasquez (Director of DEI in Manufacturing, IMEC)
The Importance of Education and Community of Future Makers and How Focusing on the Next Generation Can Solve Workforce Gaps – Sarah Hartwick (Vice President of Education & Workforce Policy and Executive Director of the IMA Education Foundation)
2:10pm – 3:10pm: Breakout Session 2 – Implementing Lean to Solve Workforce Challenges – Jeremy Smith (Technical Specialist, IMEC)
Retaining your Workforce in 2023 – Angelika Nowosadko (Technical Specialist, IMEC)
3:20pm – 4:00pm: Q&A
March 16th:
9:00am – 10:30am – Knapheide Tour / Automation Speaker
For more information and to register, please visit https://www.imec.org/event/future-of-work-force-training-and-retaining-symposium/ or find it on the IMEC Events Calendar at https://www.imec.org/events/.
Media Contact:
Kristy Johns – Marketing Manager
Phone: 309-677-2977
Email: [email protected]
About IMEC: IMEC is a team of improvement specialists who are dedicated to changing lives and creating a positive impact on Illinois’ workforce and economy. With a mission to drive growth through enterprise excellence, they help organizations become more effective and efficient by identifying issues, developing, and implementing solutions, and providing the necessary support that will allow them to excel in areas of leadership, strategy, customer engagement, operations, workforce, and measurement and results. In 2021, they assisted over 1,600 companies and help create or retain over 5,679 jobs, resulting in over $450M aggregate impact to the Illinois economy. IMEC has seven offices statewide and 48 full-time industry improvement specialists. For more information, visit www.imec.org