I recently participated in a roundtable discussion with fellow Endeavor Business Media editors and manufacturing alliances about how the industry is facing a significant challenge in recruiting skilled and unskilled workers.
To address this, the Manufacturing Institute, backed by the National Association of Manufacturers, initiated MFG Day over a decade ago. This annual event, held on the first Friday of October, encourages manufacturers to open their doors to students from college, high school, and middle school, offering them a glimpse into potential manufacturing careers.
IndustryWeek’s Editor-In-Chief Robert Shoenberger convened the panel of experts to discuss recruitment strategies and challenges across various industries as part of IW’s bi-weekly Production Pulse video series. The panel also featured:
Andrea Corona fromPharma Manufacturing, addressing challenges faced by high-tech producers.
Geert De Lombaerde of Endeavor Business Media, discussing the "Perceptions of the Trades" study, which reveals increased interest in skilled trades among parents and youth, but less so in manufacturing-specific trades.
And Rehana Begg of Machine Design, exploring how equipment manufacturers are adapting controls and interfaces to appeal to younger workers, such as replacing dials with touchscreens.
The podcast above captures that conversation.
About the Author
Traci Purdum | Editor-in-Chief
Traci Purdum, an award-winning business journalist with extensive experience covering manufacturing and management issues, is a graduate of the Kent State University School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Kent, Ohio, and an alumnus of the Wharton Seminar for Business Journalists, Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
