This summer sparked something good in several Little Friends program participants: a new interest in manufacturing careers.
A dozen participants in the disability service nonprofit’s first SparkForce Inclusion Manufacturing Camp visited several local manufacturers during the eight-week program.
Support aligns to spark new career ideas
The experiences — including facility tours, hands-on projects, career exploration, soft skills training, and safety awareness — helped campers with autism or other developmental disabilities envision a future in manufacturing, said Cassidy Kaput, director of employment services for Little Friends.
“To even see somebody spark interest — we’ve done our job,” Kaput said.
The camp met at Little Friends’ Warrenville headquarters and was fully funded by SparkForce, the charitable foundation of the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association, with support from the Kane County Manufacturing Grant.
Some manufacturing jobs a good fit — not ‘sensory overload’
Campers — 12 of them ranging in age from 16 to 33 — started the program with a simulated onboarding of paperwork, training, and assessments to show them what it’s like to start at a new job.
Then, they hit the road and visited businesses including Premium Custom Products, Armsted Auto, Flexco, West Side Tractor and SkyJack.
At each facility, Kaput said they observed jobs that could provide the routine, rules, and structure that help people with autism succeed. Some of the jobs also offered a quieter environment and smaller team than expected, she said.
“On the surface level with the disability population, people don’t think that manufacturing is a good fit for them, just because it can be sensory overload; it can be loud, it’s so fast-paced,” Kaput said. “But there were many (jobs) we were able to explore that are a good fit for our folks.”
Setting up workers with autism for success
At Premium Custom Products in Downers Grove, owner Eric Withaar showed SparkForce participants how his staff screenprints T-shirts, decorates shirts with embroidery, and conducts warehousing and e-commerce operations.
Withaar said the campers loved watching a shirt come together — seeing the artwork to start the process, then watching an operator set the job on the press, choose the colors, and cure the shirt into a finished product.
Participants also saw some of Withaar’s five employees who have autism, one of whom works full-time. The staffers joined Premium Custom Products’ team after Little Friends closed its Colorburst screenprinting business in 2023, and they’ve become a valuable addition to the workforce, he said.
“We want to set these people up for success,” Withaar said about his employees with autism, “and have them do something that their abilities will allow.”
Manufacturing campers ‘excited for what could be next’
Since SparkForce participants ranged from teenagers to 30-somethings, their plans after the camp vary, Kaput said. Some are returning to high school, others were inspired by their manufacturing experiences to take new community college courses.
One SparkForce graduate interviewed with Premium Custom Products after completing the camp and landed an internship there, which could turn into a permanent position.
“We’re going to just try to build on it,” Withaar said.
SparkForce is part of Little Friends’ employment services program, which helps people with developmental disabilities in their teens through 60s prepare for work and find jobs. Campers who need further support to find a fit in the workforce can continue engaging through other services Kaput and her team provide.
Little Friends hopes to secure funding to run a SparkForce Inclusion camp again next summer or to replicate it with a similar program.
“Everyone was super happy at the end of the camp,” Kaput said. “Our individuals were excited for what could be next for them.”
All photos courtesy of Little Friends
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