What is the West Virginia Manufacturers Association Educational Fund? The West Virginia Manufacturers Educational Fund (WVMA-EF) is a nonprofit entity created by the West Virginia Manufacturers Association (WVMA) in 2014 to develop and build a skilled pipeline to address the current and future workforce challenges and skills gap through its Explore the New Manufacturing Program.

Why does the WVMAEF have these programs? To create awareness of various education and career pathways To develop a workforce pipeline and address the skills gap  To keep our youth in West Virginia after graduation To build hope – in our youth, industries, communities, and state

How does the Explore Program accomplish these goals? Presentations:  The Explore team and area manufacturers talk about industry and job opportunities with area schools Academies:  Area manufacturers host thirty minute lab experiences for students at local tech centers and colleges Student Video Contests:  Students team with manufacturers to create videos along the theme "What's So Cool About Manufacturing?"

Are Explore Academies effective? Post-survey feedback: "There is more to manufacturing than you think. You don't have to go to college to get a good job." "That WV has a lot of cool things we didn't know about" "That there is more to meet the eye with MFG" "I learned that they are many job opportunities" "I learned that manufacturing companies pay pretty well."  

How can you help?

Where will I find more information? Visit our website www.explorewvmfg.com Find us on Facebook and YouTube Contact us:  monica @wvma.com