Industrial distributors Allied Bearing and Supply, Inc. and GHX Industrial LLC sent volunteers to meet with hundreds of faculty, counselors and administrators from technical and vocational schools throughout North America at the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) annual meeting in New Orleans, La., last month.
Volunteering was Jim and Mike McLain of Allied Bearing and Supply, Inc., a member of the Power Transmission Distributors Association (PTDA) and Jim Reilly of GHX Industria, a member of The Association for Hose & Accessories Distribution (NAHAD) where Reilly is currently president. They assisted in the Industrial Careers Pathway (ICP) booth to meet with nearly two hundred educators during CareerTech VISION 2015.
Mike McLain, himself a former teacher, noted, “One of the best ways to reach young people about career opportunities in industrial distribution is to make sure their instructors know something about the field. ICP offers to find local industrial distributors to talk to their students about the sector.” There is no charge for this service for schools from ICP.
Jim Reilly agreed saying, “Our best option to get entry-level candidates into our open positions is by establishing relationships locally with school administrators and instructors who can guide their students to the jobs we offer and talk to them about our field. ICP works hard to find and forward these opportunities on to local distributors.”
All three distributors felt the event was a great use of their time. Jim McLain said, “It’s hard to take time away from the business to talk with educators or students, but if we don’t, how will they learn about the incredibly rewarding career opportunities available in our field?”
