YouTube star promotes high-tech manufacturing careers at Kalamazoo Valley

Social media sensation Joel Goss will describe life as a professional gamer and encourage Kalamazoo-area students to consider manufacturing apprenticeships in Michigan at the "Get in the Game with Mat2 event" Thursday, November 15 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at Kalamazoo Valley Community College's Texas Township Campus. West Michigan students, parents, teachers and counselors are invited to attend this unique event that will seem like a job fair, a college open house and a celebrity meet and greet all rolled in one. The “Get in the Game With MAT2” event will highlight high-paying, high-tech careers available to Michigan students through the Michigan Advanced Technician Training (MAT2) program. “High-tech manufacturing employers in Michigan are hungry for eager students looking to embark on a challenging, high-paying career right here at home,” said Marcia Black-Watson, director of industry engagement for the Michigan Talent Investment Agency. “This event will show students that they don’t have to leave the state to find a meaningful career working with cutting-edge technology. These jobs are right in their own backyard.”

The event will be hosted by Michigan native Joel Goss, host of the YouTube channel NobodyEpic. Goss, whose channel has about 1.4 million followers, will talk about his unusual career path as a professional gamer, conveyed in his distinctive, witty style.

“Michigan is a great place to live for students who are interested in a high-tech career,” said Goss. “Recent advances in technology have really made a lot of options much more accessible. And thanks to the MAT2 program, employers are paying for students to earn a degree, as well as pay for on-the-job training. It’s really a win-win.”

MAT2 allows Michigan students to attain tuition-free degrees while fast-tracking them into high-tech, high-paying manufacturing careers such as mechatronics and computer numerical control machining. The program is a public-private collaboration in which employers pay tuition for an apprentice’s associate degree and provide on-the-job training with pay. Students who receive their degree and complete the three-year program requirements successfully have a job upon graduation in an in-demand field.

MAT2 employers attending this event include Flowserve and Benteler. The event will include:

• A presentation by Goss and a current MAT2 student

• Employer booths, with displays on the work they do and types of jobs they offer

• A tour of the MAT2 classrooms at Kalamazoo Valley Community College

• Meet and greet with Goss of NobodyEpic

Michigan employer demand is soaring for middle-skill workers – those with more than a high school diploma but less than a bachelor’s degree, such as largely technical jobs in manufacturing and healthcare. The need for advanced manufacturing employees is expected to remain strong as baby boomers retire, with more than 5,700 job openings anticipated in Michigan through 2024. Average wages for full-time jobs in this arena are $23.37 an hour. State estimates show a need for 15,000 new high-tech manufacturing workers annually through the next decade with average annual wages of $51,000, according to the Michigan Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives.