Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1058015
42 SMT007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2018 Buscemi: For the students at IPC APEX EXPO, it costs them nothing. This is all subsidized by generous donations from scholarships and membership contributions. It gives them an opportunity to be in the space with industry members. We offer them breakfast, program- matic activity, and a very generous donation of time from our training centers. They do that free of charge. It's truly a community of people coming together to make this happen. Matties: It's a great way for the industry to invest in the future. Buscemi: And give back. Matties: Yes, and help the kids today who could make this into a career. If somebody was interested in taking part and becoming a sponsor or sup- porting this, what would they need to do? Buscemi: They would need to contact IPC. They can contact me to discuss supporting our STEM and education initiatives or my col- league, Dave Hernandez, if they are interested in joining the JTA. Matties: Is there anything that we haven't talk- ed about that you feel we should include in this conversation? Buscemi: We would love to start engaging with our industry members on the local lev- el. By that, I mean IPC members are located in almost every state—and certainly globally. We're building our outreach model by iden- tifying where there is a concentration of IPC members and academic institutions (communi- ty and technical colleges and universities). This ecosystem is dependent on one another. Uni- versities depend on the industry, as do commu- nity colleges and high schools. The industry is drawing its next generation of workers in part from these institutions. We always start with industry participation, whether that's through hosting facility tours of students, sponsoring internships, apprenticeships, etc. I see our role as helping to connect and build this ecosystem—not only as a builder, but also a contributor. That's what I'd love to impress upon our IPC members—please get involved. If you're in a community where you know that there are high schools, community colleges, or universi - ties that could use your support in any way, IPC is well positioned to be a strong intermediary. Matties: If a company wanted to bring in a graduating student say from high school, what sort of support would they get in terms of training? Or is there something in place where that company can mentor through an IPC structure? Buscemi: We're building that out right now. The apprentice- ship model is a little further out. Once we com- plete our JTA effort, we'll look at what IPC's role is in supporting our industry members with apprenticeships. The same thing applies to internships. We'll be building out that earn- and-learn model in the first half of next year, which is why industry support is critical. We need our partners to come along, help us, and tell us what they need, and then we'll work with the schools, community colleges, and universities to build that bridge. In addition to the programmatic activity, we are fundraising and seeking financial support from IPC members. We have a lot of mindshare and great ideas, but these things only happen with funds. That's the other opportunity that we're looking at—fundraising over the next several months. Matties: Great. Thank you so much for your time, Colette. I greatly appreciate it. Buscemi: Thank you. SMT007