OrthoWorx Tour to Raise Awareness of Orthopedic Manufacturing Careers

WARSAW, Ind., August 23, 2017 –  OrthoWorx announced today the continuation of efforts to raise awareness among students and parents of orthopedic manufacturing careers. On August 28^th, OrthoWorx will be hosting a tour of the Ivy Tech Orthopedic and Advanced Manufacturing Training Center (OAMTC), Warsaw Area Career Center (WACC) and Precision Medical Technologies for faculty and staff of Warsaw, Wawasee, Tippecanoe Valley and Whitko Community School Corporations. This tour will educate new and existing school system employees about the local orthopedic career pathways available to their students. The ultimate goal is to expose faculty and staff to these resources so that they can promote them within their schools prior to the upcoming Think Ortho Tour, a similar program which will be occurring October 5^th that targets selected eighth-grade students and their parents.

“While the purpose of the Think Ortho Tour is to introduce students and their parents/guardians to the exciting career opportunities available in the orthopedic manufacturing industry, an additional goal is to address a common misconception that work in an industrial setting is dirty, disorganized and unsafe. In actuality, today’s orthopedic manufacturing facilities are clean, safe and high tech,” stated Ronna Kawsky, Director of the WACC. “We need to inform our educators about these opportunities, too, in order to initiate this change in opinion.”

The Think Ortho Tour is part of OrthoWorx’s Talent Development Initiative to address the skills gap, particularly in advanced manufacturing fields. The program was initiated to inform students and their parents/guardians about the various career opportunities available through the significant orthopedic economic cluster in the Warsaw area and to inform them about the pathways to careers that can extend from production positions to engineering roles.

“I am encouraging our staff to attend the event on the 28^th,” stated Brett Boggs, Superintendent of Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation. “They, in turn, can then encourage students and parents/guardians to attend the Think Ortho Tour later in the fall where they can discover the wide range of career opportunities available in the expanding orthopedic manufacturing sector in Kosciusko County.”

More information about the Think Ortho Tour will be available soon. Contact the guidance counselors at your local middle school for details on how to register.

About OrthoWorx

Formed in 2009 with initial funding from the Lilly Endowment, OrthoWorx (www.orthoworxindiana.com) is a community-based initiative that works strategically and collaboratively with the orthopedic industry and other stakeholders to ensure that the Warsaw region continues to reap the social and economic benefits that derive from its position as The Orthopedic Capital of the World.®