Dream it. Do it...Here to inspire industrial work

At Monday’s county commissioner workshop, Commissioner Dean Kinzer announced the upcoming “Dream it. Do it...Here Conference” slated at the University of Idaho, March 18.

This will be the fourth annual Dream it. Do it...Here Conference specifically for 10th and 11th graders in the region encompassing Whitman, Asotin, Garfield, Latah, Lewis, Idaho, Clearwater and Nez Perce counties.

“This is a local alliance dedicated to recruiting area youth in manufacturing and other valued industries,” Kinzer said. “Dream it. Do it. is a youth recruitment strategy developed by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) through its educational arm, The Manufacturing Network.”

Kinzer said when a country’s manufacturing percentage of their gross domestic product falls below 20 percent then the country usually starts to go into debt.

“We fell below that in the early 80s and that’s why our country is in debt, we are below 20 percent on manufacturing gross domestic product,” Kinzer said.

According to the Dream it. Do it. flier, by 2028 it is predicted that this region will have a work force shortage of approximately 7,900 workers.

The purpose of this event is to get more people involved in manufacturing and promoting manufacturing.

Kinzer mentioned that for this upcoming event, all the spots are maxed out with 500 seats filled. He added that those running the event will be getting together this next week to see if there is a possibility to open 50 more spots for students.

“You got 24 schools so far committed to attending with students,” Kinzer said. “The only two schools in the entire region that have not committed to sending some people to it are Colfax and Pullman, otherwise, every school is sending people to that conference.”

The event will run from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and is free to those who attend. There will be four, 30-minute industry breakout sessions and one higher education segment.

When students register they will select which industry they prefer and students will be placed in at least one session that matches their interest.

The industry breakout sessions will be presented by select representatives who will share information on their company or organization, what the job requires, their career path, what they like about their work and what education is required for the job.

The one education session that the students will attend will show what educational pathways could help them succeed in occupations needed in the region.

Kinzer added that there will be roughly 49 companies that will be at this conference and present in a job fair setting.

“It’s a really good program whether you’re looking at not going on to a four-year education after high school or you plan to,” Kinzer said. “They are targeting the youth right now because they want them to stay in the area and keep them working.”