On Friday, December 19th, 7 students graduated from the program the Rowley Spring and Bristol Adult Board of Ed had put together to help shape the upcoming workforce. The program aims to be the solution to business claim of not being able find anyone with qualified experience in Manufacturing anymore. This pilot program has successfully brought 7 students through a curriculum that allows them to gain all the skills needed to find a job in manufacturing upon graduation.

Larry Covino, the adult education supervision, praised the students as, “extraordinary individuals.” as he continued to say, “We want them gainfully employed in something that’s more powerful than a minimum-wage job, that’s a life sustaining occupation.”

All the students came from a very diverse background and all had extraordinary stories to tell. From being a single mom with three kids, to having a full time job and paying for everything for his family, but what each student shared was a desire to better their current employment situation and that’s exactly what Rowley Spring and Bristol Board of Ed hope to do with every student that graduates from this program.

Rowley Spring has been very excited about this pilot program because the program is free for the students, it’s through the generosity of donations that allow these students to better their current conditions and work toward a sustainable future for themselves. Each student had 54 hours in Rowley Spring’s manufacturing area to gain hands on experience with our equipment, and trainers, to learn tasks that are required to work in a manufacturing environment.

As the program continues to develop and reach more people, we hope to see many other graduates from the program and allow the Bristol community members to take advantage of this great opportunity.

Rowley’s 1st Workforce Development Graduation

Rowley’s 1st Workforce Development Graduation

Rowley’s 1st Workforce Development Graduation

Rowley’s 1st Workforce Development Graduation

Rowley’s 1st Workforce Development Graduation

Rowley’s 1st Workforce Development Graduation

Rowley’s 1st Workforce Development Graduation

Rowley’s 1st Workforce Development Graduation

On August 15, 2014, Rowley Spring held a press conference to launch the AEDAC (Adult Education Diploma and Certificate) program. The conference was held at 9am in Rowley’s learning center.
The conference was held to discuss the pilot program that Rowley Spring and Stamping (RSS) is working on in junction with AEDAC and Bristol Adult Education Center (BAEC) to provide participants to get their GED and train them for a career in manufacturing. The collaboration between BAEC and RSS allows for a unique learning experience to receive hand-on training on Rowley’s manufacturing floor while receiving classroom knowledge simultaneously. This unique setup is to inspire people in the community that have may not be able to afford to go back to college and currently looking for new career opportunities. The program is made up of three main components: GED Prep, manufacturing competencies lecture, and hands on training at Rowley Spring and Stamping.

The program estimated costs were around $85,000, which has been funded entirely through private donors.

“We are thrilled to have support from many community and business partners to implement this important program,” said Lawrence Covino, Director of BAEC.

Representatives from the Dollar General Foundation, the Central CT Chambers of Commerce, the Main Street Community Foundation and the New England Spring and Metal stamping Association were also present during the conference.

The Bristol Board of Education, the Central CT Chambers of Commerce, the Main Street Community Foundation and NESMA are the key partners that have collaborated to promote and support the AEDAC program as well as establish the Bristol Technical Advisory Board. Wal-Mart and the Farmington Bank Community Foundation are also supporters.

“At Dollar General, we are passionate about our mission of ‘Serving Others’ throughout the communities we serve,” said Rick Dreiling, Dollar General chairman and CEO.

Senator Blumenthal gave a very inspiring speech talking about how Manufacturing has been part of Bristol’s history for a very long time. When off-shoring of manufacturing became prominent, Bristol’s economy took a strong hit, but now with the resurgence of manufacturing turning back to American soil, Bristol is once again seeing the surge in demand for employment in the manufacturing sector. Senator Blumenthal stated, “Now, we are seeing a resurgence of manufacturing but there are a lot of folks that need the skills training. People with the right skills will find jobs, and those that lack skills will be unemployed longer than ever. The difference between this recession and recovery and most is its fragility and an unprecedented number of long-term unemployed people. That’s why this partnership is important; it gives folks the chance to better themselves, enter the workforce and help with the resurgence of manufacturing.”

The program is a risk for both the Adult Board of Ed and Rowley Spring but if the program is success then it will be a risk that was well worth the effort. It will help out the people looking for jobs that lack the skills needed for manufacturing as well as help manufacturing stay on American soil and continue to reach the demand of the market.

“This is an outstanding program; it’s great for the manufacturing industry and the community as a whole. It will allow us to have the workforce we need to continue to grow businesses.” said Cockayne.

For more information, visit http://www.bristol.k12.ct.us and click on Departments to reach Adult Education. For more information about the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, visit www2.dollargeneral.com/dgliteracy.

Any adult interested in applying for the AEDAC program contact the BEAC at (860) 584-7865.

On Friday, June 20th, Rowley Spring and Stamping celebrated their 60th anniversary! 60 years of a small business is a big accomplishment. It shows that with hard work and determination a company is able to rise above even the worst economic downturns. Rowley has been faced with a lot of challenges both internally and externally but through it all, they came out on top. The day started with taking a look at how far Rowley had come. The 1950’s were a great time to start a business and Rowley is an example of how one guy and really change the lives of many. Unfortunately, the founder of Rowley, Stanley Bitel, could not attend the celebration but his two daughters did! They even told some old stories about what it was like to work with their father as Rowley began to grow into the corporation it is today. Stories were also told from employees that have been working at Rowley for over 30 years! And of course, there was a great video to reminiscence on old pictures from the companies old scrap books:

After taking a trip down memory lane Rowley employees headed outside for some games, food, and entertainment! There was even guest appearances from past employees and some showed up in their 1950’s cars! Their was also a costume contest, a scavenger hunt, lawn games, Raffle prizes and tons of food (thank you Frankies!).

For more picture check out Rowley’s Facebook page! – https://www.facebook.com/rowleyspring

Celebrating 60 years with Rowley Spring was an extremely fun day and all Rowley Spring and Stamping employees should be very proud of all their hard work and dedication. They’re truly an amazing team to work with.

June is a VERY exciting month for us here at Rowley Spring. 60 years ago as of June 20^th, 2014 will be the official 60 years in business! Rowley Spring started in 1954 and has been growing ever since. Rowley has been through a lot of economic and technological changes but in the end, a company with positive attitude and values will be able to prevail through even the toughest winds.

Our history is rich but our business philosophy is richer and the employees are the ones that really drive the philosophy of constant growth and improvement here at Rowley. Things are always changing and demands for products will turn but if your core business values shift alongside the demand you will likely be able to coup with all the turbulence and that’s exactly what Rowley has done.

Stay tuned with Rowley Spring and Stamping as we go back to the 1950’s and celebrate our history as well as all the milestones!

Rowley Spring and Stamping is pleased to announce the opening of Rowley Spring and Stamping University! Manufacturing has been facing a serious dilemma when it comes to talent in the workforce and RSS University hopes to solve that problem.

To keep up-to-date on Rowley’s project development of RSS University you can visit – http://rowleyspring.com/rss-development/
Or can visit the website directly at: http://rssuniversity.wordpress.com/