SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association (IMA) and the Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center (IMEC) will celebrate Manufacturing Month throughout the month of October with its 3rd annual “Makers on the Move” statewide bus tour that will visit manufacturing facilities, educational institutions and community centers to spotlight career opportunities and highlight the industry’s widespread economic contributions.
The “Makers on the Move” bus tour will begin at Ace Sign Company in Springfield on Friday, Oct. 4, which is recognized nationally as Manufacturing Day. Ace Sign Co. manufactured the decorative wrap for this year’s bus, which was designed by a student at Capital Area Career Center, who won a statewide contest among high school students to have their creation featured throughout the tour.
The fully wrapped 56-foot bus will travel 2,500 miles to nearly every region of the state, making roughly 40 stops along the way. Industry advocates traveling on the bus will be accompanied by educators, economic development leaders, public officials and other dignitaries. The public is invited to join in the festivities and can register to attend stops by visiting https://makersonthemove.org.
“The annual ‘Makers on the Move’ bus tour celebrates our state’s amazing manufacturing sector, which is the bedrock of our economy. Manufacturing professionals are transforming our world, creating life-saving medicines, producing healthy food, generating energy to power our homes and businesses, and embracing innovation through quantum computing, biotechnology and more,” said Mark Denzler, President & CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. “We look forward to hitting the road and spreading the word about the exciting future of manufacturing in our great state.”
Manufacturing is the largest contributor of any industry to the state’s Gross Domestic Product, generating more than $580 billion for the state’s economy each year. The industry directly employs 662,298 workers but ultimately supports as many as 1,771,928 jobs – nearly a third of all jobs in Illinois.
“Illinois manufacturing is strong, and this tour is an opportunity to celebrate the enduring legacy of manufacturing in our state,” said David Boulay, PhD, President of the Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center. “As we honor the progress and advances made, we must continue our drive for growth by exchanging ideas for success, including how to attract and retain a diverse, new generation of workers that will further transform the industry.”
Nationally, there are more than 500,000 open jobs in the manufacturing industry, including tens of thousands of available jobs in Illinois. The IMA and IMEC are dedicated to working with employers, educators, and lawmakers to enact policies that help attract and retain a skilled workforce. These efforts are vital to ensuring Illinois can continue to experience strong economic growth in the coming decade, as more baby boomers are expected to exit the job market and companies seek to fill the resulting experience gaps.
“For Illinois to maintain its competitive advantage, manufacturers, educators and policy makers must work together to attract younger talent and build a skilled workforce of the future,” said Sarah Hartwick, Vice President of Education & Workforce Policy at the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association and Executive Director of the IMA Education Foundation. “We look forward to showcasing the diverse array of manufacturing career opportunities as we seek to inspire a new generation of manufacturing leaders.”
About the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association (IMA)
The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association is the only statewide association dedicated exclusively to advocating, promoting and strengthening the manufacturing sector in Illinois. The IMA is the oldest and largest state manufacturing trade association in the United States, representing nearly 4,000 companies and facilities. For more information, please visit http://ima-net.org/.
About the Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center (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 helped 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.