Rockford Register Star
Sunday, October 17, 1999

TECHWORKS links schools, employers©
The partnership aims to teach skills needed by area manufacturers

In the 1970's, Rockford pioneered area technical education when it opened the Rockford Area Vocational Center.  The center didn't survive the 1980's and now, local manufacturers say, there's not much time left for the Rock River Valley to fill the tech-ed gap.

The latest effort is TECHWORKS, a joint partnership among 10 area manufacturers, Abilities Center, Rock Valley College and the Rockford Park District in the old Army Reserve buildings on 15th Avenue in Blackhawk Park.  When complete, TECHWORKS will train people in metalworking skills demanded by local industries.

TECHWORKS will join programs like those at Rock Valley College, the Abilities Center, and the Harlem, Durand, Pecatonica and Byron school districts to help find workers to fill the region's 1,000 factories.

Ryan Petty, head of the Rockford Area Chamber of Commerce, doesn't pull punches.

"In every level of our community we are undereducated and undertrained," Petty says.  "This community undervalues education.  We underestimate the relationship of education and skills training to our continued prosperity."

 

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