PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 30, 2023
For more information, contact:
Emily Nicholson, Executive Director, Land of Sky P20 Council
emilyn@landofsky.org or 252.916.2678
Elkamet & Land of Sky P20 Council Partner for Manufacturing Career Exposure
Elkamet and the Land of Sky P20 Council collaborated on a new marketing initiative (#worklocal) to expose our emerging workforce to manufacturing careers. Three versions of posters were created with pictures of Elkamet employees, local graduation credentials, and a quote reflecting the employees’ career passion for the purpose of being hung at two Henderson County High Schools. The posters featured local graduates from North and East Henderson High Schools, and were presented to the Career & Technical Education Director of Henderson County Schools on June 7, 2023. The Elkamet employees that volunteered to be included in the posters include: Manuel Garcia (Business Unit Group Leader), Jose Ramirez-Martinez (Quality Technician), and Melissa Bell (Quality Technician). In addition, all were graduates of the apprenticeship program at Blue Ridge Community College and have their journeyman credentials as a part of this.
In the effort to enhance career interests in the manufacturing industry, the #worklocal initiative will encourage local high school students to seek training and employment opportunities within growing career fields. These near-peer, local and current employees of Elkamet will hopefully serve as a catalyst for this inspiration and is one of many efforts that workforce partners of the region are deploying to enhance interest in our highest-growth industry sectors. Elkamet is a family-operated manufacturing company with products used across the vehicle and lighting industries. It produces extruded profiles from industrial polymer materials for automobiles as well as PA/PE/X-PE tanks for fuel and hydraulic systems for building construction machinery and fork trucks.
About the Land of Sky P20 Council:
The Land of Sky P20 Council fosters collaboration among employers, educators, and community members in the spirit of enduring economic prosperity, through the alignment of innovative cradle-to-career skills and resources that lead to life-sustaining job opportunities in our four-county region of western North Carolina. Its 31 members include regional leaders from four counties representing the areas of K12, postsecondary, economic development, private business, early education and county management. It’s supported by the John M Belk Endowment and was recently awarded a $1.4 million Department of Labor grant to expand training opportunities at our region’s community
colleges.
Pictured: Posters that will be hung at the high school.
