About Dream It Do It
Look around you! Almost everything you see was manufactured: the laptop you’re surfing on; the chair you’re sitting in; the shirt on your back; the phone in your pocket. To manufacture these products and many others requires people with a wide variety of skill sets and interests. These are jobs that pay well and offer great benefits. Yet, throughout Western New York there are great career opportunities in manufacturing going unfilled. These opportunities are available right now!
Students can get started in learning more about exciting career pathways in manufacturing by enrolling in the Dream It Do It Advanced Manufacturing Program. Enrollment enables students to explore careers, build a portfolio, participate in fun applied learning events and programming, earn electronic badges and achieve a manufacturing recognized certification at graduation.
Dream It Do It Western New York (DIDIWNY) is energizing and building an early talent pipeline of students interested in manufacturing careers in Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie and Niagara County. To achieve this objective, DIDIWNY places an emphasis on engaging middle and high school students in applied learning opportunities. Importantly, Dream It Do It serves as a connection point between manufacturers, schools and their students throughout the region.
Click on the Dream It Do It logo below to join the Dream It Do It Advanced Manufacturing Program and participate in fun applied learning events and programming, earn electronic badges and achieve a manufacturer's recognized certification!
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What people say about Dream It Do It
“An important component of educating students is connecting them with a sense of purpose and agency. Students learn about career opportunities in our region, as it helps them envision a purpose for what they are learning. Dream It Do It offers hands on experiences to students—while also providing them with insights about potential employers. It also helps inform administrators, teachers and counselors in our region about advanced manufacturing, a major aspect of our local economy.”
“I’m a big believer in the Dream It Do It Program because what it’s doing is providing education to describe what US manufacturing is all about. It is amazing to see the science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and the advanced skill sets that it takes to make the products of today. When you expose that information to the next generation of students you have to overcome a mindset that manufacturing is just like it was in the 1920’s: a dirty dangerous environment; and that’s the farthest from the truth.”
“Dream It Do It has been the key linkage between our company, our schools and the community, connecting us with the talent we need to innovate and grow our business. I can walk anyone out on the floor of our facility, introduce you to each employee and what you will find is that there is a story about how Dream It Do It played a role in helping us connect with almost every one of them.”
“Our number one challenge is finding a skilled workforce. Dream It Do It is a critically important initiative in helping our company develop a skilled workforce in that it connects students and educators with the world of manufacturing. Without Dream It Do It we would struggle to build the relationships we need to build our workforce.”
“An important aspect of our workforce development efforts is connecting with our schools. We see our local students as critically important to building our workforce now and well into the future. We have supported and partnered with Dream It Do It because the initiative has helped bridge our plant to the community, the schools and the training system.”
“The Dream It Do It initiative in concert with the Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier was with us every step of the way as we developed the P-TECH program. Today, the organizations work in partnership with us to inform our programming as we strive to keep it relevant as technology and processes advance, help us understand the workforce needs of the region’s manufacturers and provide projects and work experiences for our students.”
“Enrolling our students with the Dream It Do It Advanced Manufacturing Program provides an opportunity to create stronger connections to manufacturing career pathways, rewards students for their school-based work and engagement in hands-on programming through Dream It Do It and builds engagement directly with manufacturers.”
