Office of Community and Economic Development

OCED Helps Deliver SJVMA Valley Made: 4th Annual Manufacturing Summit

Picture	Caption(yes/no)	Caption Text
	yes	Renowned author and entrepreneur, Josh Linkner, delivered a morning keynote address.
	yes	Close to 100 exhibitors took part in the event, displaying products and services, and exchanging information with attendees.
	yes	Attendees took advantage of more than 20 breakout sessions throughout the day, including this one on Women in Manufacturing.
	yes	The summit included a job seeker recruiting and networking session, featuring HR professionals, resume tips, and recruiters.
	yes	Keynote speaker, Josh Linker, during his address. Linkner is a New York Times bestselling author, venture capitalist and five-time tech entrepreneur.
	yes	Local businesses in the exhibitor area met with new contacts and displayed their services.
	yes	The breakout session on Energy Policy addressed California's energy goals and vision.

OCED partnered with the San Joaquin Valley Manufacturing Alliance (SJVMA) and several other local entities to present the 4th Annual Manufacturing Summit on May 17^th at the Fresno Convention Center Exhibit Hall. The Summit, entitled “Valley Made,” offered professional development workshops, inspiration from well-known keynote speakers, and an industry expo -- all while celebrating the long history of innovation in manufacturing in the San Joaquin Valley.

The event was attended by more than 800 people, including nearly 200 students and job seekers. There were also 99 participating sponsors and exhibitors, representing manufacturers, educators, government and manufacturing suppliers. Attendees were provided resources and networking opportunities to continue building a world-class workforce and cross-sector collaboration – all aimed at creating a globally-competitive environment for the San Joaquin Valley’s manufacturing industry.

This was the fourth consecutive year that OCED played a pivotal role in planning and delivering the Manufacturing Summit. SJVMA was established as a result of OCED's efforts to organize a group of regional manufacturers to further the local manufacturing workforce. Since then, SJVMA has grown to a membership of more than 600 members from several local businesses, and hosts numerous workforce development events and resources throughout the year. OCED continues to maintain close ties with the organization and provides project support for SJVMA initiatives. For more information on SJVMA, visit www.sjvma.org.