Tucker is undoubtedly one of the fastest-rising business destinations in the Metro Atlanta area. Each month, the Business Boom will seek to show different examples of how Tucker’s business scene is flourishing. This month's column is written by our Business Outreach Coordinator, Angela Brooks.
On October 14, the hallways of Tucker High School (THS) were overrun with boisterous teenagers rushing here and there with giggles, whispering and a whole lot of LOLs (Laughing Out Loud). How is that different from any other day at Tucker High or any other high school you may wonder. These students were actually participating in a unique learning opportunity as a part of the City of Tucker’s Manufacturing Day at their school.
The event brought together representatives from some local manufacturing companies and students from the school to explore the multitude of career opportunities within the industry and right here in Tucker. It featured panel discussions with industry experts talking about ‘Careers in Manufacturing: a day in the life of,’ ‘Advanced Manufacturing,’ there was expo booths where students could see product displays, interact one-on-one with company representatives to learn about job opportunities, skills required, along with paid education and even training in some instances.
“The businesses and organizations that were willing to take their time to come to our high school is so invaluable,” English teacher at THS and the event organizer for the school’s participation Tasheika Mason, said. “Because meeting students where they are is one of the best ways to form those partnerships and to provide that exposure to today's students because sometimes they don't know how to find out about certain jobs or how to meet people who can give them information that will help them weigh their options.”
Mayor Frank Auman’s original vision of Tucker Manufacturing Day was launched in 2018 to spotlight the importance of this industry to the city’s economy. The idea for the THS event came from the city’s most recent Manufacturing Day (last May) at the Stone Ridge event center, when for the first time, students were invited to attend and to learn about modern manufacturing as a career option. This time around the city brought the event to the students with enormous success. The City Economic Development Manager Jackie Moffo strongly agrees and hopes to engage more businesses for future opportunities.
“In the economic development space, whether you're recruiting a business or talking to an existing business, their number one concern these days is finding qualified talent, and that's not a concern that we see changing in the near future,” Moffo said. “So, by having events like this we can really create a place where students can look at alternatives to college that can create careers and great opportunities. It also helps fill that talent gap for the companies that choose to do business here.
TJ Maunder, owner of Southern Wall Products, said he was excited for his drywall business to participate because it fit perfectly with a strategy that they already had in mind.
“We had been talking about building a relationship with Tucker High School so that hopefully we could get the opportunity to either share information or get in front of kids that are maybe not considering a college path and to at least explore manufacturing,” Maunder said. “We're not a huge company but you know we need people and someone that was not gonna go on a college path at least give them an opportunity for something to check out.”
Engineer Mike Haun, who attended on behalf of Southern Wall expressed his concern with helping the next generation.
“We are genuinely concerned about making sure that the next generation has the tools to live their life,” Haun said. “I actually live down the road from the high school and down the road from Southern Wall. I care about Tucker, and I care about its future, and I do think that people who feel that college isn't for them, should feel included and feel good about their choice.”
Having this event again is something Mason would want to happen.
“We were able to have over three hundred students participate, I would definitely want to do it again,” Mason said. “Since this was what I considered the inaugural event, I would consider it a test run and because it went so well, it would be great if it could happen again perhaps in the spring of 2023.”
Mason said that the school has the capacity to have even more students participate.
“Because of the way we built the logistics, I think it could support more students and more businesses participating as well,” Mason said.
Moffo said that they had thirteen companies represented that included a mix of businesses, technical colleges, and workforce resources participate this time around.
“Knowing how well-received this one was, I’m sure we can get even more folks on board for the next one,” Moffo said.
Participating manufacturers: American Tables and Seating, Hermeus, Hormel, International Paper, Pepsico, Rise Baking Company, Steel Mart, DeKalb Tool and Die, Sugar Bowl Bakery. Workforce resources: Georgia Piedmont Technical College, Universal Technical Institute, and WorkSource DeKalb.
