West Columbia, S.C. – Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation’s CEO Lou Kennedy will host Governor Henry McMaster, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, SC State Education Superintendent Molly Spearman, and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) President and CEO Jay Timmons as they all participate in the Creators Wanted workforce development exhibition and tour this week. The exhibition is sponsored by Nephron in partnership with N.A.M. Nephron will host these leaders on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (October 20-22). This represents the only Creators Wanted tour stop in South Carolina.
To help close the workforce gap, the National Association of Manufacturers and The Manufacturing Institute, the workforce development and education partner of the NAM, are bringing the industry’s Creators Wanted campaign to communities across the country. Manufacturers in the state will have the chance to highlight job growth opportunities for the next generation of creators. This new, immersive experience aims to inspire job seekers, students, parents and teachers with the possibilities of a rewarding career in modern manufacturing, while providing them with the resources to take the first step to becoming a future creator.
As these stops occur, the participants will have an opportunity to communicate with one another regarding what types of jobs the future holds and how potential employees can prepare themselves to join that workforce of tomorrow. Nephron’s CEO Lou Kennedy has always been a leader amongst businesspeople across the USA that have predicted that additional manufacturing will return to America from offshore as a necessity. Bringing manufacturing home will bolster our economy and supports national security.
Kennedy was spreading this wisdom long before the worldwide pandemic showed that offshore manufacturing was a serious problem and a threat to our nation. Kennedy has been a key figure in supporting this type of thinking and now, other manufacturing and political leaders are seeing her wisdom and planning for this resurgence in homegrown manufacturing. A major portion of the planning for manufacturing to return is having a well-trained workforce in place ready to take these new, high-tech jobs.
Part of Nephron’s plans for the future has been investing in education. Kennedy and her husband Bill have always been benefactors of education from primary schools through the highest levels of academia. As manufacturing changes and develops, it is their hope that their investment in education will be returned through a well-qualified pipeline of employees that are ready to enter the workforces of our nation’s manufacturers with little need for additional training.
In the coming days, watch the local and national news closely to see what ideas and plans were developed as the cadre of leaders tour the nation. Many of their ideas and solutions may soon be integrated into the education of the nation’s future employees are prepared to enter the workforce.
