CHICAGO – Passenger railcar manufacturing jobs are back in Chicago, as twenty-seven students from Dundee-Crown High School’s electrical engineering program recently learned. Students had an exclusive look at railcar production and met the CRRC employees who are building the 7000 Series railcars for the Chicago Transit Authority.
“Working in this industry for more than 20 years, it’s exciting to meet such an enthusiastic group of high schoolers who show such genuine interest in the electrical and manufacturing fields,” said Erik Weathersby, Electrical Foreman for CRRC Sifang America. “It was a rewarding experience to share my knowledge about the industry with this group of graduating seniors.”
In addition to hearing from employees, CRRC invited the Chicago Federation of Labor to the facility to share more opportunities and resources available to students interested in pursuing a career in the manufacturing field.
“From day one, CRRC said it would bring well-paying manufacturing jobs back to Chicago, and this tour demonstrated to the future workforce that CRRC has jobs for them,” said Marina Popovic, Human Resources Director & Chief Legal Counsel for CRRC Sifang America. “CRRC plans on staying in Chicago for a long time and it will continue to hire and train the next generation of manufacturing professionals here in the City.”
In 2016, CRRC Sifang America was awarded a contract by the CTA to supply more than 840 new 7000 Series railcars, which will replace approximately half of the agency’s current fleet. As part of its proposal to the CTA, CRRC Sifang America committed to assembling the railcars in Chicago and to partnering with workforce developers to provide manufacturing related training to employees from the community.
Erik Weathersby, Electrical Foreman at CRRC Sifang America, explains the process of installing wiring under the carriage of the 7000 Series passenger railcar to electrical engineering students from Dundee-Crown High School.