CHICAGO, IL — Industrial Careers Pathway (ICP) made itself known to an estimated 2,000 young participants at the 22nd annual Skill/Compétences Canada on June 6-7, in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, with a booth staffed by three volunteer ICP Ambassadors from Motion Industries Inc. and ICP program manager, Mary Jawgiel.
Jawgiel estimated about 400 conversations took place with “right fit” students concerning careers in industrial distribution. She added that 20 educators who influence students’ career choices were also engaged. The group guided Skills Canada participants to a new online “Team ID” superhero quiz at IDCareers.org designed to gamify the process of finding a job within the field of industrial distribution that fits their personality. About 300 “Team ID” t-shirts were given away to those who took the quiz.
“The new Team ID superhero quiz was very engaging and a lot of fun,” said Jawgiel. “The t-shirts were a big hit, too. Hopefully when these young folks finish their education, they will remember to look at IDCareers.org when they are ready to find a job.”
Tom Dielschneider, vice president supply chain, Motion Industries Inc., who participated as a volunteer ICP Ambassador agreed. “This is definitely the audience we want to influence. In a few short years, they are going to be our new hires, assuming they know about our field, which is why we are here,” he said.
Two additional ICP Ambassadors, Robert Tompkins and Chris McNamara, of Motion’s Moncton branch, also helped out by spending time at the ICP booth talking with Skills Canada competitors and observers. Tompkins said, “This is a great competition and we loved being a part of this whole experience. We are thankful that ICP engaged us and made this so easy.”
In addition to providing visibility about the rewarding entry-level careers in industrial distribution, ICP develops resources to help industrial distributors recruit, on-board, hire, manage, train and retain entry-level employees. An example is the training program, Elements of Industrial Distribution, which is available at a discount for companies with membership in ICP partner associations. ICP also publishes the ICP Talent Tipsheet, a quick-read eBlast to help retain and manage Generations Y and Z. The ICP online job board is the only one focused solely on industrial distribution.
