ORISKANY —Area students were able to get an inside look at fiber optic manufacturing in the Mohawk Valley in a highlight of October being Manufacturing Month.

The students, on Friday, got an in-depth view of the process with tours at Fiber Instrument Sales.

The event was one of several held simultaneously at five different companies in four counties in the Mohawk Valley region. 

Area students were able to tour local facilities and “learn about in-demand manufacturing careers, and see the innovative processes that have made the region a focal point for manufacturing in New York State,” according to a statement.

The events were organized through cooperation by FuzeHub (a guidance resource for the manufacturing industry), the Advanced Institute for Manufacturing (a manufacturing training and consulting service) and Mohawk Valley Community College.

“As manufacturers across the nation confront challenges related to talent attraction and labor shortages, programs like FuzeHub’s and MVCC’s Manufacturing Month play an important role in the state’s workforce development efforts by encouraging young people to pursue manufacturing careers,” a statement continues.

The day of planned activities was geared toward showing participants manufacturing and skilled labor opportunities in their own backyard that are not just jobs, but careers, said Mark Cushman, Vice President of Human Resources at Giotto Enterprises, the parent entity of Fiber Instrument Sales.

Using outreach efforts to engage future generations of employees is part of a multipronged approach businesses can take to showcase the Mohawk Valley, Cushman said.

“That’s what is going to keep technology moving forward,” he added.