“There are only three ways that a country builds wealth – you make things, you mine things and you grow things. Everything else is ancillary to that. Manufacturing has the best record for add-on jobs. For every job that is created in manufacturing, there are multiple add-on jobs that are created as a result.”
– Pat Lee, Fabricators & Manufacturers Association
There are numerous rewarding careers in the manufacturing industry, despite the negative images portrayed by the media today. Many believe that manufacturing offers nothing but low-paying, dirty, unskilled jobs, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, the average national income for manufacturing workers actually exceeds that of non-manufacturing workers and skills such as mathematical and computer skills are required for the operation of high-tech equipment.
The workforce of the manufacturing industry has continued to age as many young people choose to pursue degrees in non-manufacturing fields. A large number of these workers are soon approaching the retirement age, leaving many job openings to be filled in the years to come. Some non-profit organizations have been working proactively to spur interest in the manufacturing and engineering fields. These organizations target the youth at an age when they might not have chosen a career path yet and demonstrates to them the value of making things. Some of these organizations include:
Nuts, Bolts, and Thingamajigs Foundation
Nuts, Bolts, and Thingamajigs Foundation (NBT) is a non-profit organization sponsored by the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association. Their mission is to “nurture the tinkering spirit.” NBT organizes summer manufacturing camps all over the country for middle and high school students that gets them familiar and involved with the manufacturing and engineering processes. These summer camps also teach students what skills they would need to acquire for a career in manufacturing. In addition to the summer manufacturing camps, NBT also awards scholarships to students that pursue an education in the manufacturing and engineering fields.
Project Lead The Way (PLTW) offers pre-engineering courses to students in middle and high schools. Their curriculum is taught in over 4,000 schools around the nation and is centered on preparing students for a post-secondary education and career in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). PLTW is supported by a number of partners and sponsors from various organizations, foundations, universities, and corporations.
The SME Education Foundation addresses the shortage of manufacturing careers by encouraging and educating students of the opportunities within the industry. They work to accomplish this by offering students a number of different programs such as Gateway Academy, a week-long day camp for 6th to 8th graders. SME also rewards scholarships to students pursuing degrees in a manufacturing-related field. Manufacturing is Cool is an award winning, interactive site sponsored by SME that engages students in the education of manufacturing in a fun way.
Capitalizing on the popularity of games such as Cityville and Farmville, Siemens has created a game called Plantville. In this game, players can choose one of three virtual plants to operate: a bottling plant, a vitamin plant, and a plant that manufactures trains. Players are measured by how well they maintain their plant’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Those KPIs include safety, on time delivery, quality, energy management, and employee satisfaction. Plantville is a fun and challenging game that engages players in the operation of a manufacturing plant. This game can help encourage high school students considering a career in manufacturing by providing them with a realistic simulation of the job as a plant manager.
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