Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • May 27, 2019 • Hartford Business Journal 13 of younger workers, while exposing the city and region to the products, jobs and other positives flowing out of Wallingford factories. Tim Ryan, Wallingford's director of economic development, sees plenty of benefits to its employers. "It's very important that busi- nesses know we understand the challenges confronting them,'' Ryan said. "More than that, we're working aggressively to address them.'' William "Bill" Villano, president/CEO of the Workforce Alliance/American Job Center, which covers Middlesex and New Haven counties, says Connecticut's shrinking, aging population is forcing other communities to rethink their edu- cation and skills-training efforts. While Wallingford, so far, is out front with STEM Town, Verano said high schools in a growing number of towns, including Chester, Essex, Hamden and Meriden, are deploying STEM-based skills training in their classrooms. His group is also working with Wallingford on its STEM Town initiative, provid- ing training to adults looking for a new career op- portunity. Meantime, in early May, Work- force Alliance began accepting applications from state residents 18 and older for its summer "Skill Up for Manufac- turing'' train- ing program at Middletown's Vinal Technical High School. A second skills- training session runs from June 17 to July 22, in New Haven. STEM Town success story Wallingford resident Thomas Nichols, 47, who spent the last five years doing maintenance for a local apartment complex, is a STEM Town beneficiary. Married with two middle- schoolers and a degree in graphic de- sign, Nichols "saw the handwriting on the wall'' regarding the future of that job, so he turned to manufacturing. "I've always liked working with my hands,'' he said. Nichols enrolled last fall in a six-week, manufacturing-training program run by two STEM Town participants — Workforce Alli- ance and HUB- CAP Wallingford, which promotes lifelong adult learning. He was tested for his math and read- ing skills. Then, each Thursday, he would meet with four Wallingford manufacturers who spoke to him and other participants about their companies. HR officials from those companies helped Nichols and his classmates create resumes and coached them in answer- ing employers' questions in mock job inter- views. In the final session, students underwent live job interviews, to determine if they were hireable. Nichols landed a job in January with Germany's BYK Co., whose Walling- ford plant's capacity expanded five years ago for making additives that give paints and coatings their hue and physical properties. Nichols was BYK's first STEM Town-related hire and was among nine of the 13 people who landed jobs after graduating from Workforce Alli- ance's manufac- turing-training program. "It's taken some getting used to,'' Nichols says of his new job. "Hourly pay is better than I was getting.'' BYK's benefits are great, too, he said, especially the free pairs of $125 workboots the company provides its full- time workers. Bridget Bozzi, BYK's head of human resources, said her company values STEM Town "because it helps promote jobs within the commu- nity and it helps us recruit.," Nichols says his only regret is that he didn't pursue a manufacturing job sooner. He works, he said, with guys half his age. To Millennials weighing a job or career in manufacturing, or other trades, "I'd say, 'go for it,' '' Nichols said. " … I've always told my kids do what you love to do. If it's not a job you want, figure out how to do [for a living] what you love to do.'' Major CT Manufacturing Hubs, 2012* Dozens of Connecticut communities host manufacturers. Here are the biggest listed by the Census Bureau based on producers' total economic output. The Census Bureau does not track output in East Hartford, where defense- contracting giant Pratt & Whitney, and Groton, home to Electric Boat, are based. City Value (in millions) Wallingford $1,520 Bridgeport $1,063 Waterbury $956.7 New Haven $510.5 Stamford $495.4 Hartford $207.6 Source: U.S. Census Bureau *2012 is the latest year for which data is available brought to you by Celebrating our Creativity! Join us this June, as we celebrate Hartford Arts Month with hundreds of performances, exhibitions, classes, festivals and activities ta'in# place throu#hout the month! Be part of the celebration! LetsGoArts.or#/ArtsMonth Arts Hartford Month State Rep. Elizabeth Linehan Wallingford students and instructors recently attended the International Space Trade Summit in Hartford. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

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