MFG Day: Engaging Students

By Elizabeth Moore, NATM Tracks Editor

Manufacturing Day (MFG Day), an initiative of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and the Manufacturing Institute, is set for Oct. 1, 2021, with events continuing throughout the month. The Manufacturing Institute is the workforce development and education partner of NAM. MFG Day is a near-decade-long initiative that seeks to provide awareness of the industry and help solve the workforce shortage that plagues manufacturing. In the last year, the trailer manufacturing industry has been increasingly vocal about workforce challenges, and MFG Day is the perfect way to be a part of the solution.

The initiative encourages companies and educational institutions across the country to open their doors to students, educators, parents, and their communities by hosting events or sharing information online. If you are interested in registering an event, visit www.CreatorsWanted.org/register-event.

Engaging students and changing the public opinion of manufacturing is crucial to combatting the workforce challenges. However, students can be tricky to engage given their short attention spans and limited real-world experience. Below are some tips to get the most out of your time with students and leave a lasting impression.

What to know about students

• Students are egocentric.

• They are interested in things that can apply to their lives both geographically and interest wise (design, engineering, etc.).

• They tend to look at things from their own point of view rather than stepping into the shoes of someone else.

• Students have a disconnect between their goals and the path to accomplish them.

• They often know what they want, but lack the steps to get there. For example, they are unsure if pursuing higher education or technical school would be the right choice for them.

• Students have short attention spans.

• Ten to 15 minutes on one activity or topic is a good rule of thumb to follow when planning out an event. Any longer, and you may risk students checking out of your presentation and losing the opportunity to leave a lasting impression.

How to engage students

• Use relatable messengers. Someone closer in age and who understands the current student’s perspective will go a long way in getting students to listen and consider the presentation.

• Provide context to the presentation. Ask them what would happen if your company’s product didn’t exist. This will help them understand how important manufacturing is.

• Have a company representative explain how they came to have the role they have and detail each step. Provide a clear pathway to follow that would gain access to the jobs that you need filled.

• Switch up activities and speakers regularly to keep students engage. Allow them opportunities to ask questions, get up and move around, or write down their thoughts.

• Link to the students’ interests, creative hobbies, and other pursuits. This will make your talk more relatable, and in turn, students will be more likely to listen.

• Provoke surprise. This will help sell manufacturing as a career. Discuss the job demand (modern manufacturing will generate 10 million jobs in the next 10 years), sustainability initiatives, and potentially salaries if you feel they would be beneficial.

• Connect to technologies. Showcase advance technologies your company may use and include information on how to learn about said tech, whether its coding and computer programming, welding software, or quality programming technology.

• Pivot off concerns and keep the tone of the presentation positive and upbeat. • Offer solutions to employability fears by explaining clear pathways to enter the field as discussed above. Show diverse entry points to manufacturing.

• Align your presentation with student and parent values.

Illustrate how manufacturing can provide self-expression, career growth and leadership, autonomy, and security.

Acknowledging the positive values associated with manufacturing will help shift hesitant parents’ perspectives as well.

• Utilize your own communication channels such as websites, blog, internal communications, and email lists to spread awareness of your event.

For more resources regarding MFG Day, visit www.CreatorsWanted.org/resources. There you can find marketing and hosting toolkits, information on MFG Day’s app, and on demand webinars about MFG Day. You can engage with MFG Day on social media as well @TheMFGInstitute, @ShopfloorNAM, @MFGDay on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.