Dream It Do It coordinates tours of students, teachers and counselors through local manufacturing facilities. A group of students from Randolph with assistance from DIDI toured Stuart Tool & Die in Falconer this past fall.

A local program that works to get more skilled workers into manufacturing is starting strong after the pandemic put the program on pause.

Dream It, Do It Western New York‘s new coordinator, Francine Rondenell, said October is National Manufacturing Month, “What we tend to do during the month of October for Manufacturing month is to really try to get students into area manufacturers to tour, ask questions, see in person what today’s manufacturing looks like.”

Dream It, Do It is an initiative of the Manufacturer’s Association of the Southern Tier. MAST Executive Director Todd Tranum said workforce is the number one challenge faced by manufacturers and has been even before the issues brought on by the Pandemic, “We see Dream It, Do It as an important part of this. I mean, there’s other initiatives in the community that are important. JCC has made a significant investment in their workforce development side and in the Manufacturing Institute. We have the P-TECH program out of Dunkirk which is available to schools throughout the district. We’ve seen our specific schools make additional investments and recognizing the importance of skilled trades and manufacturing.”

Rondenell said the Dream It, Do It 500, which originated in Cattaraugus County, is coming to SUNY Fredonia this November. She said it’s a competition where students build and market rubber band powered cars, “But the task is for them to be on-site and coming up with the design and building it and testing it and then racing it. And we’ll have a panel of judges there who will be judging various criteria. We’re also planning on having some engineers from area manufacturers there who can help them with the design process.”

Rondenell said the competition had been held remotely last year, with over 300 students participating. She said STEM Wars also will be returning this Spring after being on hiatus.

For more information about the Dream It, Do It program, visit didiwny.com

Congressman Rep. Tom Reed was in Falconer Oct. 13 to tour Truck-Lite Company, Inc. and recognize the Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier and Dream It Do It Western New York for their effort in training the workers of tomorrow.

FALCONER – Chautauqua County’s representative in Washington says the only way America can remain competitive on the world stage when it comes to manufacturing is by equipping the workers of tomorrow with the skills and knowledge they’ll need to get the job done.

Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning, NY 23) was in Falconer Tuesday to promote National Manufacturing Month with a tour of Truck-Lite and to recognize the Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier and Dream It Do It Western New York for their efforts in training the workers of tomorrow.

Reed pointed out that Truck-Lite has been a major partner with the local Dream It Do It program, giving high school students in the area an opportunity to learn about the operation and what they’ll need to know to work in a manufacturing setting.

“This is manufacturing of tomorrow,” Reed said. “It takes a hi-tech [approach]. It takes a lot of science, technology, engineering and mathematics – that’s why we’re a firm believer in the STEM program. And it’s also about raising awareness. This being National Manufacturing Month, one of the things we hope to accomplish with this [visit] is to raise awareness to the next generation and to mothers and fathers and say, ‘This isn’t the manufacturing of the 20th century. This is the manufacturing of tomorrow, which is safe, it’s exciting, it’s hands on and it’s stimulating.”

Truck Lite Sr. Vice President Brad VanRiper said the Dream It – Do It program has become a valuable component for the local manufacturer.

“Through Dream It – Do It and the education coalition, we’ve seen an effort to align education with the needs of business and industry,” VanRiper said. “If education doesn’t know our needs and the students don’t know the opportunity, then we can’t get the employees – which is probably the single biggest opposition to our growth here in Western New York.”

Reed also presented a Congressional proclamation to Manufacturers Association director Todd Tranum and Dream It Do It Coordinator Justin Hanft, who said the program has given hundreds of students an opportunity to learn how they can work in manufacturing.

“Dream It Do It program throughout Chautauqua County – through a variety of different strategic approaches – hosts a lot of different events around the county at different times throughout the year,” Hanft said. “The one we just did recently was our Manufacturing Day event on Oct. 2, when we had over 600 kids throughout the county that visited a manufacturer, Truck-Lite being one of them.”

In addition to the proclamation, Congressman Reed also toured the Truck-Lite plant to learn more about the operation and the products that it provides to its customers around the globe.