January 14, 2014
Dear Community Partner:
Where will you find your pipeline of future employees to fill your open positions due to
retirements and expansion?
If you are concerned about this issue, you are not alone. A recent study by the NEW Manufacturing Alliance
found that 60 percent of manufacturers believe they will have difficulty finding talent for their company. This
issue becomes even more concerning when you consider employees old enough to retire now outnumber teen
workers for the first time in 60 years. By the year 2020, more than 36% of the country’s population will be older
than 65. Engaging youth in exciting careers in manufacturing is imperative to support the labor force needs of
manufacturers. In our region, 23% of all jobs are in manufacturing. To ensure a skilled work force, education,
business & industry and the community must work together to develop highly skilled workers to maintain a
successful, vibrant economy in northeast Wisconsin.
The Green Bay Area Public School District (GBAPSD) in partnership with Northeast Wisconsin Technical College
(NWTC) and the NEW Manufacturing Alliance are developing Bay Link Manufacturing, a high-precision
manufacturing learning lab designed to provide students with relevant, real world experience in high-tech careers
in manufacturing , engineering, marketing and business. Bay Link Manufacturing will be located at West High
School in Green Bay.
The overall project cost is $396,400 for facility upgrades, equipment, and start-up costs. GBAPSD and NWTC have
committed $201,000 and now need manufacturers support in both equipment (new/used) and financial
contributions to support the “opening” of the Bay Link Manufacturing learning lab in October of 2014. High
school juniors and seniors, in collaboration with NWTC students and manufacturing mentors, will complete
projects for local companies in the areas of industrial welding, machine fabrication and metals. Students will also
design the marketing and business systems necessary to sustain a successful manufacturing business. An
emphasis of the program will include students learning employability skills, including problem solving, teamwork
and interpersonal communication skills. In order to open in time, a deadline date for raising the remaining funds
is March 3, 2014.
We believe this innovative approach to showcase careers in manufacturing to students in their very own machine
shop will have a dramatic impact on the number of students that enter into a manufacturing career. Enclosed is
an informational brochure outlining sponsorship opportunities. We look forward to meeting with you about how
your company can be part of the solution in creating a larger pipeline of future manufacturing employees. You
will be contacted in the next few days to set up a meeting to discuss the program. If you have questions prior to
our contact, please contact Lori Peacock at 920-448-2018 or lcpeacock@gbaps.org.
Sincerely,
Dr. Michelle Langenfeld, Superintendent
Green Bay Area Public School District
Dr. H. Jeffrey Rafn, President
Northeast Wisconsin
Technical College
Mark Kaiser, President
Lindquist Machine Corporation
Steering Committee-NEW
Manufacturing Alliance
____________________________________________________________________________________
Donor Information
I/we wish to contribute $__________________________ to support Bay Link Manufacturing, located at
West High School in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
This donation is for:
 Equipment _________________________
(Description)
 Financial resources to be used for the facility upgrade
 Services (e.g., labor) in-kind for the facility upgrade
Please print the name as you wish it to appear on recognition materials:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Name:________________________________________________________________________________
Address: _____________________________________________________________________________
State: ________________________________________Zip:_____________________________________
Contact person:
Title:
Telephone:
Email:
Make checks payable to:
Green Bay Area Public School District
200 S. Broadway Street
Green Bay, WI 54303
For equipment or in-kind donations, and for
more information about your sponsorship:
Lori Peacock
Green Bay Area Public School District
CTE Partnerships and Program Coordinator
(920) 448-2018
lcpeacock@gbaps.org
Donations to the Green Bay Area Pubic School District are tax deductible.