The northern Kentucky-based subsidiary of Bonfiglioli hosted an open house on Tuesday, December 19 to share details of a new co-op program with students, teachers and administrators from local high schools and vocational schools. Attendees learned more about Bonfiglioli, took a tour of the facility and met key leaders and supervisors of the company.
The program is part of Adecco Staffing's YES! Youth Employment Solutions program, which offers work-based learning opportunities for youth throughout the state of Kentucky, where the youth unemployment rate is more than double the statewide average. Adecco began the program in 2015 as a partner to the Kentucky Department of Education to help improve the youth unemployment rate in Kentucky, bolster career pathways for students into high skill high demand jobs, and to reduce the skills gap in manufacturing and other industries. At Bonfiglioli, local high school students who participate in the program will work as Industrial Maintenance Technicians or in Supply Chain areas such as inventory control, cycle counting, shipping or receiving. Co-op students will perform key functions of the jobs and learn the safe, effective and efficient practices of each. The inaugural program at Bonfiglioli will begin in January 2018 and students who participate may continue working at Bonfiglioli until they graduate high school.
Those who complete the program successfully will have the opportunity to be hired by the company or secure permanent placement elsewhere with their newly acquired skills and work references. Around the world, Bonfiglioli has always focused on programs for youth, said Greg Schulte, President of Bonfiglioli USA. The YES! Program will be a fantastic opportunity for local students to learn while they learn and provide them with better work opportunities when they graduate high school. We are looking forward to having the students on board and in helping the northern Kentucky region improve the youth unemployment rate and reduce the skills gap.
This was an important day, explained Barrett Bridgewater, Program Manager from the YES! Program. Bonfiglioli is officially announcing their intention of creating a Co-Op program while establishing relationships with educators from their local schools. This is a true partnership approach and we love to play our role in it.
This is a win-win-win for the company, the students and schools, and for society as whole. Laura Williams, Principal of the Boone County Area Technology Center, described the feedback she got from her students who attended the open house. The students, she said, were excited to see first-hand that skills they're learning here are a fundamentally solid foundation that is truly preparing them for the many high skill, high demand jobs in this area. Companies like Bonfiglioli are being proactive in their efforts to narrow the skills gap by offering co-op opportunities which perfectly complements the education we provide by taking it to the next level with real world experience.
