2015 Celebration Encourages Exploration of Manufacturing Careers, Opportunities ERIE
Manufacturing Day is a growing grassroots movement of manufacturers dedicated to overcoming the shared challenges facing manufacturers today. The most pressing issue — the growing skills gap. According to research from Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute, the United States faces a need for nearly 3.5 million manufacturing jobs over the next decade, and 2 million of those jobs are likely to go unfilled due to the skills gap. Experts agree that this challenge will only grow as the demographics of our workforce evolve with retirements, new technological advances requiring a higher level of training and certification, as well as our K-12 education system, which continues to lack the necessary focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education. Manufacturers’ ability to address this issue has been hindered by the public perception that careers in manufacturing are undesirable and by insufficient preparatory education. Both of these problems stem from a lack of understanding of present-day manufacturing environments, which are highly technical. “Whether you are designing or making a product, today’s jobs require technical skills,” explains Greg Sbrocco, general manager for Global Supply Chain – Services at GE Transportation in Erie and member of the Manufacturer & Business Association (MBA) Board of Governors. “Unfortunately, students begin losing interest in math and science around middle school.” In response, GE, for one, partners with local area schools, holding programs in and out of the classroom designed to spark students’ creativity and interest by engaging them in hands-on activities and competitions. Other organizations have followed suit. This year, the MBA, in conjunction with the Erie Regional Manufacturer Partnership (ERMP), Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership, Career Street and more than 25 sponsors, will be hosting a two-day Manufacturing Day celebration and Manufacturing Workforce Summit on October 1 at the Bayfront Convention Center. Tours of local manufacturing facilities will be held October 2. Manufacturing Day gives manufacturers an opportunity to raise and address these issues by simply exhibiting what they do to visitors curious about manufacturing. Through this collective effort, Manufacturing Day draws public attention to manufacturing’s present-day reality and encourages jobseekers to develop the skills they need to qualify for long-term careers in this secure and growing sector of the economy. 12 < www.mbabizmag.com < October 2015
“Manufacturing Day provides us with an excellent opportunity to dispel public misconceptions about manufacturing, as many local companies will open their doors on Friday, October 2, to students, parents and educators,” explains Bill Hilbert Jr., chairman of the MBA Board of Governors and president of Reddog Industries in Erie. “It will be an excellent opportunity to directly communicate with the community. One goal for Manufacturing Day is to build interest in young people in manufacturing, encouraging them to pursue STEM careers.” “Manufacturing jobs are the backbone of most successful economies,” adds Tim Hunter, immediate past chairman of the MBA and president and CEO of McInnes Rolled Rings. “Creating and maintaining an environment in our community that enables manufacturing to grow and flourish will be a vital component of Erie’s future.” Many parents and schools do not encourage their kids to pursue manufacturing careers either, resulting in a critical lack of understanding and interest among the next generation of talent. This is at a time when manufacturing could not need that talent more. “The biggest myth about manufacturing today is that all of the good manufacturing jobs that built our community are gone,” says Hunter. “Manufacturing is alive and well in our community and still provides over 20,000 very good jobs.” Local manufacturers agree that manufacturing provides numerous opportunities — especially in the areas of education and wages. “With the high cost of secondary education and vastly improved manufacturing wages and environment, young people and their parents should consider a future in manufacturing as an option to an immediate entry into higher education,” says Roger Schultz, manager of Technical Training at LORD Corporation. “Entering the workforce prior to college allows a young person an opportunity to earn money and develop a better understanding of what they want to do with their life. There are many opportunities within the manufacturing community for a young person to advance and enter college while they continue to work. They can go on to earn their college degree and then advance further within manufacturing, and many manufactures have ‘aid for education’ programs that can assist employees with the cost of a college degree.” John B. Pellegrino Sr., P.E., of Ridg-U-Rak, Inc., in North East, Pennsylvania, for instance, applied his education to build a successful manufacturing career. “I started as a chief structural engineer and, today, I am the president and