To capture more growth locally, the Plastics Cluster has agreed to pursue one collaborative action initiative with four distinct components, many of which will be part of a regional Flagship initiative on education and training.

1. Promote Careers in the Plastics Industry and Manufacturing

• Hire Recruiter: Cooperatively fund a full time plastics recruiter to work with community colleges and other schools.
• Contact Schools: Meet with high school counselors in the region to promote the plastics industry, job opportunities, positive wages and career path.
• Define Image: Develop a positive regional image of the plastics industry, for career promotion.
• Factory Tours: Provide plastics industry tours to plants for K-12 students.
• Communications Materials: Develop promotional materials on the plastics industry, career experiences, featuring former high school students.
• Career Events: Hold a career exploration day in plastics with high participation from the plastics industry; optionally hold a manufacturing career day with other clusters, as is done in other regions.
• Joint Promotion: Cooperatively fund promotional activities with seed money from major material suppliers to the plastics industry.
• Use Scholarships: Explore scholarship programs for college students pursuing plastics careers accompanied by brokering of job offers in the industry.
2. Collaborative Planning Between Plastics Industry and Education System

• Advisory Group: Organize a Plastics Advisory Committee for the regional school system to ensure that appropriate industry curricula needs are communicated.
• Participate in Commissions: At a minimum, add plastics industry representatives to appropriate commissions, including school boards, community college advisory committees.
• Review Timing Issues: Examine the time-frame and pipeline to ensure high school and college graduates will be available when needed.
3. Design High School Training, Internship and Coop Programs for Plastics

• Industry Instructors: Bring experts into high schools from the cluster to attend and co-lead specific classes that relate to the plastics business.
• Use Voyager Project Model: Have K-12 faculty and counselors work for a week in the plastics industry to better understand the business and its requirements.
• Mentor: Offer "job shadowing" where high school students learn about plastics and are monitored and mentored by prospective plastics employers.
• Internships: Establish internships and advanced internships for high school juniors and seniors.
• Co-Ops: Establish a co-op program with high schools and plastics companies to provide experience and training.
• Career Track: Define a possible plastics career track for high school students, link with internships, coops and future job tracking.

4. Establish a Technical Education Center Focusing on Plastics (Post High School)

• Assess Needs: Explore demand for a plastics certification program, including SPI, for post high school graduates.
• New Journeyman Programs: Design Journeyman programs, based on models from GM, Chrysler, Ford.
• Provide Work Experience: Provide work experience along with technical education resulting in certification in chosen plastics specialization.
• Plan Training Program: Design program to produce new "graduates" that meet entry level, technical and engineering level plastics employment needs.

5. Status of Actions
6. Most of the actions agreed to by this cluster are now being addressed as part of regional EDGE Flagships.
7. The Plastics Cluster is coordinating a Career Day with KVCC devoted solely to the plastics industry. They are also considering hiring a firm to promote the industry to high school and college students through job fairs, brochures, and advertisements.