I grew up in Michiana, a region around the borders of Michigan and Indiana.
I was born and raised on the Indiana side, near South Bend, where Notre Dame University is located.
Historically, quite a few manufacturing giants had plants in the area (including Studebaker whose local plant closed its doors in 1963).
Today, there are remain a handful of RV manufacturing plants. Elkhart County currently has a 16.8 percent unemployment rate; St. Joseph County 11.2 percent.
Across the nation, many skilled workers are unable to find opportunities as companies continue to outsource manufacturing to areas where labor and production costs are less expensive.
Since June 12, 2009, my company has had representatives touring the nation on something called the Empowerment Tour. The Empowerment Tour is an effort to help working adults adjust to such transitions.
We are partnering with eight online universities to award scholarships to 100 recipients as well as receiving a paid internship opportunity at participating company. The scholarship will cover the full cost of tuition at one of the participating schools listed below.
I was lucky enough to join the Tour this past weekend to see how it worked and to help anyone with questions about online education and distance learning.
It was a fairly rainy Saturday morning and the turnout rather quiet. The official Tour RV was parked outside of YMCA. I stood by the front entrance with brochures to answer questions and guide folks to the room where we had everything set up.
Part of our Tour includes being able to have a free session with a professional career coach. I sat down with Ayn Fox over a plate of pasta salad and deli meat to discuss my career. I wasn't sure where to start and felt self-conscious. (Ms. Fox reminded me of my tenth grade chemistry teacher, which must have triggered some apprehension on my part. I was never a solid chemistry student.) I talked about my job history, personal and professional interests, as well as related fears and apprehensions. I found her to be supportive and an excellent active listener.
Here's my plug: the free session alone makes it worth the while to visit one of the Tour stops. I also appreciated that our official Tour RV was manufactured by Coachmen, a company that has a manufacturing plant in Elkhart County.
The Tour's final stop will be in Los Angeles, California, but there's still a month before it ends.