5 Ways to Sway Youth Toward a Career in Manufacturing

Most precision machine shops understand that the skills gap that remains in the industry will only improve with actions from each individual corporation. According to the American Precision Museum (APM), six out of 10 positions in manufacturing remain unfilled in part due to false industry perceptions. Therefore, the industry must collaborate to battle against the common misconceptions, including:

• Manufacturing is a dead industry.
• Manufacturing facilities are dirty and unsafe.
• Manufacturing jobs are repetitive, boring and unfulfilling.
• Manufacturing jobs do not pay well.
• Manufacturing offers no career path to higher income.

To tackle these challenges, some machine shops have implemented strategies that have been proven effective for attracting young talent. Those strategies might be included in the following list from APM, which was created to provide ideas on how to help educate students about careers in manufacturing.

1. Find opportunities to bring students on-site. Although taking advantage of the nationwide Manufacturing Day event is a great way to spark students’ interests, it’s critical to hold events throughout the year that continue to bring students to your facility. Opportunities can include quarterly tours of your shop floor, panels with your team members in various roles of the organization, family fun events that encourage both parents and children, and STEM events in your facility. Once students are in your building, consider offering them a tangible trinket to make the memory stick after they’ve left.
2. Share your story and the story of your employees. These success stories and personal journeys give the public an inspiring view of the industry. Leverage social media to share the accomplishments of individual employees and spotlight employees in marketing materials such as e-newsletters. Showing off employees’ personal achievements and hobbies is another option.
3. Raise awareness with local community sponsorships. Think beyond the industry and partner with sports teams, restaurants or any other community staple that the locals frequent. At these sponsorship businesses, it might be an option to set up a table with a visual demonstration of what your organization manufactures and information about community events you are holding. You can also pass out branded swag such as canvas bags, pens, keychains, and so on. Also, sponsoring, hosting or having employees volunteer with a local school STEM competition or event is another way to get community exposure.

4. Shift your internal and external messaging. What your company does every day is exciting and meaningful, so share that with the community. Take the time to energize your messaging to excite current and potential employees and the community to show the side of manufacturing they might not know exists. Ideas include creating a memorable tagline that keeps your business top of mind in the community, drafting community impact reports that detail what your machine shop has done in the community, and getting the word out any time an end product can be tied to an end- user in messaging.

5. Diversify corporate partnerships with like-minded organizations. A student might not step inside your facility and immediately see a job that resonates with them. Building a diverse network of partners within the industry is one way to ensure students that come through your doors have various opportunities to find what interests them.

For more information from American Precision Museum, visit americanprecision.org.