Recently the Leadership Council of Madison and St.

Clair Counties in partnership with the

manufacturing industry started a campaign to get the word out about the in-demand, high
pay jobs available in the manufacturing industry. It is predicted there will be 1,500 manufacturing job openings in these two Illinois counties in the next five years. Current salaries
in these fields average $80,000 per year. Many of these high-tech manufacturing jobs can
be obtained with just a high school diploma along with on-the-job training while others
require certifications or Associates Degrees. In addition, most of these jobs are offered in
clean, safe, state-of-the-art facilities.
Collinsville ARea Vocational Center

Vo c at i o n a l U p dat e

Manufacturing jobs in Southwestern Illinois

With skills such as the ability to work in a team environment, computer literacy skills,
basic proficiency in math, reading comprehension, mechanical reasoning, troubleshooting
skills, and a high safety and environmental awareness, jobs can be found in some of the
best companies in the country. Companies such as Phillps 66, Dynegy, U.S. Steel, Sun
Coke Energy and Olin Corporation, along with growing local businesses such as The
ROHO Group, Progressive Recovery Inc. are all based in Southwestern Illinois and looking for individuals with the skills listed above who are willing to work hard and show up
on time every day. Additionally, those same skills can transfer across multiple industries,
including information technology; transportation, distribution and logistics; robotics;
healthcare and biotechnology.
For more information visit :
http://www.co.madison.il.us/departments/employment_and_training/careers_in_manufacturing.php

New Instructor Brings Big Changes to

CAVC Food Service Program
This year brings with it some significant changes in the CAVC Food Services
program. New teacher, Rob Pryor, has brought a multitude of experiences
from the industry into the classroom. So far students have sold everything
from home made chicken salad sandwiches to bacon wrapped chili dogs.
While CHS students cannot purchase food due to specific guidelines regarding
school food sales, the staff is clearly enjoying the expanded options. These culinary experiences provide opportunities for Food Service students to not only
learn about food but also calculate nutrition, analyze food costs, proportionately increase or decrease recipes, apply food safety concepts and utilize service industry practices. Co-op and Business
teacher Kelli Ponce stated, I am really impressed with the food quality this year. As the
co-op teacher, I am in and out of businesses
every day. This program models service and
industry standards students will need to utilize
in any food service related career!

Clinical Health Occupations Host Blood Drive

On September 29, the Clinical Health Occupations (CHO) classes from the Collinsville Area Vocational Center (CAVC) hosted a blood drive at Collinsville High School. Approximately 35 students
are enrolled in the CHO program at CAVC. These students are training to become Certified Nursing
Assistants (CNAs) by attending class, practicing clinical skills and applying those skills through clinical hours at a local care facility. Hosting a blood drive and assisting Mississippi Valley Regional Blood
Center is just one of the many aspects these students are learning about health care.
Based on last years numbers the goal was to collect 152 units. This year
we were able to surpass that goal and collect 177 units! These donations
could impact as many as 700 lives. The Mississippi Valley Regional Blood
Center complimented our students on their behavior and cooperation.
The student body and staff who participated in the bold drive were
courteous, kind and punctual. Ms. Modeer, CHO instructor stated it was a joy and my pleasure to work with such
selfless, generous, compassionate young adults. I am also grateful for the support of the faculty and staff who participated and supported our efforts. It was a
wonderful day to be a Kahok! We should all be very proud of the 300+ who made
this possible!

HAAS Corporation Helps Schools With CAVC Tuition for Machining

In 1999 Haas founded the Gene Haas Foundation. Growing up with a strong social conscience
instilled by his family, Haas initially formed the foundation to fund the needs of the local community and other deserving charities. Haas is the owner Haas Automation, Inc., Americas leading builder of CNC machine tools, which he started in 1983. Haas Automation is a now a billion
dollar company and this extraordinary growth has all come in an era when Americans were being told that the United States doesnt manufacture anything here anymore. Those perceptions
and decisions made in our education system regarding vocational education have lead to dire
statistics. A recent report called The Skills Gap in U.S. Manufacturing 2015 and Beyond projects
that, Over the next decade, nearly three and a half million manufacturing jobs will likely need
to be filled, and the skills gap is expected to result in 2 million of those jobs going unfilled.
Genes commitment to the importance of US manufacturing has incited him to grow
his personal foundation and direct his foundation board to focus on
manufacturing education and grants for scholarships for students entering
CNC machinist training have been a key area of focus. Grants are
funded that help some strong technical programs that teach
these skills grow and expand. In October of 2014 CAVC was
the lucky recipient of one of these generous grants. Grant funds
were used this fall to cover the tuition cost for students enrolled
in the Precision Machining program which are typically charged to
the home school. In total, $12,500 from the Haas grant has provided free tuition to five
deserving CAVC Precision Machining students from Dupo and
Collinsville.