Fall 2020 FAME eNews
From the Chair: Dave Phillips
(FAME Chair; Training Manager, G.W. Lisk)

FAME members and partners,
2020. Wow… what else can you say? This has been the most absurd year our country has ever seen. Everything has changed, from how we hold meetings to when or where we might go on vacation. Many companies have seen downturns in business while others are having the best year ever. We have coined the term “the new normal” - which I am not sure I even understand, but one thing is for certain, the way we do business is certainly changing. One aspect of business that has changed significantly is recruiting, and workforce development. For FAME these changes have impacted our most important events. We were not able to hold our 2020 annual event and had to cancel Finger Lakes Works With Their Hands.

Although the rules have changed for events and gatherings, it has not changed our priorities of collaborating with educators, building a skilled pipeline, and raising awareness of the careers in manufacturing. Maybe our new normal should include more virtual opportunities and online content for both students and employers. At FAME we are trying to find ways to bring virtual events to schools and students so they may still be able to see what opportunities are available in advanced manufacturing. These efforts include updating and expanding our FAME YouTube channel, and shifting the FAME Pipeline Committee to virtual meetings (coming soon!). Employers should reach out to their local schools to see how they may be able to help schools deliver work based content through alternative methods.

All of our members have worked so hard over the years to raise awareness of the great careers in manufacturing, we don’t want to lose that momentum. The rules may have changed, but we still need to find new ways to accomplish our goals.

Be well.
FAME Continues Involvement with National Skills Coalition Business Leaders United Effort Focused on Workforce Partnerships
Former FAME Chair Mike Mandina of Optimax Systems has continued his involvement with Business Leaders United (BLU), and recently attended a virtual event to discuss efforts highlighting the needs of advanced manufacturing and other industries.

BLU has prepared several informational pieces for the incoming Congress that may be of interest to our members, please see the links below:

MCC's Economic & Workforce Development Center releases:
Future of the Technician Workforce

This study is based on the growing discussion within national and state workforce development about how smart, automation and transformative technologies are impacting industry, the technical workplace and ultimately the technician workforce in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate NY. 

Subscribe to FAME's YouTube Channel for informative videos from member companies on AM careers! Click HERE

Do you have member content you'd like us to include? We'd be happy to! Please contact Michele at FAME, email: fame@nyfame.org
FAME Pipeline Committee update:

Please join us in welcoming Danielle Phillips (AATech) and Jeannie Brockmyre (Absolute Precision) as our new co-chairs of the FAME Pipeline Committee!

Danielle and Jeannie are replacing Jim McGaffin (NYMAT), former chair. We thank Jim for his service as chair, and look forward to reconvening the Pipeline Committee meetings in a virtual environment very soon.

Committee members will be notified when the next meeting date and time are available. New members are always welcome. Stay tuned!
FAME Student Scholarship Recipients - Where are they now?

We recently received an update from FAME 2018/2019 Student Scholarship winner Victor Halfmann (pictured at right with Ale' Mendoza of Optimax). Victor was a Mechanical Technology student at FLCC, and writes that since graduating FLCC, he has transferred to RIT to pursue a Bachelors in Robotics and Manufacturing Engineering Technology.

After completing his first RIT semester, he accepted an offer for a co-op, which ended this past summer. He is now back at school for the Fall 2020 semester and plans to take his second co-op for the summer-fall block in 2021. If all goes well he plans to graduate in 2022.

Victor's recent co-op was with Teledyne LeCroy, located in Rockland County, New York. They are a manufacturer of oscilloscopes, protocol analyzers, and electronic test equipment. He worked primarily in the cable cell, responsible for cables and cable assemblies. Generally, his tasks involved helping with everyday cell operation, and he was also doing some fixture and overmold tool design.

Is your company interested in contributing to the FAME Student Scholarship fund? Please click HERE for the donation form with complete instructions, thank you for your support! I
FAME members: Are you hiring? Let us know!

We'd love to help you publicize online, virtual and drive-thru recruiting events! Please send hiring notices and flyers to Michele at FAME, email: fame@nyfame.org

FAME members in good standing can have their openings distributed to our 125+ member HR Networking Group, as well as posted to our FAME LinkedIn and Twitter groups.
Phone: 315-521-7826 Email: fame@nyfame.org