Amy Baron, a recent Cary-Grove High School graduate, works in the shipping department of Jessup Manufacturing Company as an intern on Friday, June 10, 2022. The Manufacturing Pathways Consortium in McHenry County launched a new paid internship this summer that is looking to train current and recent high school students in various manufacturing skills in effort to help expand the pipeline of quality manufacturing workers in the county. (Gregory Shaver/Gregory Shaver Shaw Media )
The first week began with orientation and safety, but by the end of it, some McHenry County teenagers were already working with laser cutters.
Nearly 100 high school students and recent graduates across McHenry County are getting a taste of what it’s like to work in manufacturing as part of a new 10-week internship hosted by the area’s Manufacturing Pathways Consortium.
The vision of the program is to get students experience in the field, as well as change the perception for those entering the workforce that manufacturing isn’t seeing growth, said Jessup Manufacturing President and CEO Robert Jessup, whose McHenry-based business is hosting interns this summer.
“In a lot of ways historically, manufacturing has gotten a bad reputation,” he said. “But manufacturing in McHenry County is thriving.”
Seven of the top 20 employers in McHenry County are manufacturers, according data from the McHenry County Economic Development Corporation. These companies employ over 3,500 people.
In the last 10 years, manufacturing in McHenry County has grown between 15 and 18%, said James Sitko, a regional project manager with the McHenry County Economic Development Corporation. Of the 8,500 or so businesses in the county, between 2,400 and 2,500 do some type of manufacturing.
Recent Cary-Grove High School graduate Amy Baron, 18, said she joined the internship program to have something to get her out of the house during the summer.
“I figured this was a good opportunity to get experience in an industry I have some interest in,” she said. “I want to get a better idea of how things actually work.”
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