{"id":249,"date":"2011-10-18T21:05:09","date_gmt":"2011-10-19T04:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/savingusmanufacturing.com\/blog\/?p=249"},"modified":"2011-10-18T21:05:09","modified_gmt":"2011-10-19T04:05:09","slug":"how-can-we-attract-youth-to-manufacturing-careers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/savingusmanufacturing.com\/blog\/general\/how-can-we-attract-youth-to-manufacturing-careers\/","title":{"rendered":"How Can We Attract Youth to Manufacturing Careers?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If we want to attract today\u2019s youth to manufacturing careers, we need to change their perceptions about what the manufacturing industry is like and show them what great career opportunities exist in the industry. \u00a0If more people would watch TV programs such as \u201cHow it\u2019s Made\u201d and \u201cMade in America,\u201d they would soon realize that manufacturing has changed for the better \u2013 it\u2019s cleaner and high tech compared to what it was a generation or two ago.<\/p>\n

In a blog article<\/a>, Derek Singleton, ERP Analyst for Software Advice, wrote, \u201cThis means reacquainting youth with the process of designing and building products from an early age \u2013 and then providing the creative freedom to build those things on their terms.\u201d\u00a0 He shared two examples from industry and suggested a third:<\/p>\n

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  1. Manufacturing summer camps<\/em> \u2013 A recent New York Times article<\/a> highlighted an innovative summer camp, called Gadget Camp, where teenagers learn how to build things from concept to creation. Attendees are required to design a product through computer-aided design (CAD) technology and oversee the design to completion.<\/li>\n
  2. Gamification of manufacturing<\/em> \u2013 Gamification is a hot topic in many aspects of business at the moment \u2013 one driven by the idea that adding gaming elements to non-gaming activities encourages action and participation. It’s a movement that seeks to capitalize on our youth\u2019s obsession with video games as well as our competitive nature. According to Diana Miller and Simon Jacobson\u2019s recent Gartner First Thing Monday Morning newsletter, Invensys has been using 3D gaming technology to teach new hires how to operate oil refinery equipment for the past few years. In the same vein, Siemens recently released Plantville<\/a>, a program designed to teach manufacturing processes and technologies to young people and new hires.<\/li>\n
  3. Restore shop classes to our high schools<\/em> \u2013 The elimination of these courses from our school systems has inevitably had a negative impact on the way we view making a living with our hands. We can all learn from building something with our hands because it teaches us a different way to think. And more importantly, hands-on learning through shop classes helps young people move an idea from concept to creation \u2013 which is useful regardless of one\u2019s future occupation. \u00a0(quoted with permission)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The good news is that more than one non-profit organization has recognized the need to introduce the opportunities of engineering and manufacturing careers to middle school age youth because by high school, students may already be on a different career track.\u00a0 The benefits of summer camps for middle school youth is why the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association, International<\/a> (FMA) sponsored the Gadget Camp mentioned above.\u00a0 FMA sponsors the Nuts, Bolts and Thingamajigs Foundation (NBT) whose mission is to nurture the tinkering spirit.<\/p>\n

    NBT and the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) have partnered together to launch a unique summer camp program that combines elements of manufacturing and entrepreneurship\u2014how things are made and how businesses develop. The summer camp will eventually develop into a national program with as many as 300 locations across the United States.<\/p>\n

    FMA also offers grants for manufacturing summer camps at numerous locations across the country. \u00a0Each camp is aimed at changing the image of manufacturing for youths. Through partnerships with nonprofit organizations, such as the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, FMA provides guidelines on the basic structure of how a camp should be conducted. \u00a0The organizations then use their community resources to develop the camps based on local manufacturing needs.<\/p>\n

    The camps provide a positive hands-on experience so young people will consider manufacturing as a career option. They target youths at the critical level of early secondary education, exposing them to math, science and engineering principles, and giving them opportunities to see the technology being used in industry and the high level of skills that will be required from the workforce.<\/p>\n

    Campers design and build a product experiencing the start to finish satisfaction of creating something they can show off with pride. Throughout the process, they learn how to do CAD design and operate various kinds of manufacturing machinery under the close supervision of expert manufacturing trainers.<\/p>\n

    They also tour local manufacturing facilities learning what kinds of jobs exist, what skills and training are required, and how those businesses developed. They have the opportunity to hear directly from local manufacturing company owners how they started their businesses, applying basic entrepreneurship principles to understand how a single product idea becomes a business.<\/p>\n

    Another non-profit organization with similar goals is Project Lead The Way<\/a>\u00ae (PLTW).\u00a0 The list of PLTW sponsors includes such companies as:\u00a0 BAE Systems, Biogen Idec, Boeing, Caterpillar, Chevron, General Atomics, Intel, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Qualcomm, Solar Turbines.\u00a0 Non-profit sponsors include the Girard Foundation, the McCarthy Foundation, and TechAmerica (formerly AeA).<\/p>\n

    PLTW has been working since 1997 to promote pre-engineering courses for middle and high school students. PLTW forms partnerships with public schools, higher education institutions, and the private sector to increase the quantity and quality of engineers and engineering technologists graduating from our educational system. \u00a0The PLTW curriculum was first introduced to 12 New York State high schools in the 1997-98 school years. A year later, PLTW field-tested its four unit Middle School Program in three middle schools. Today, the programs are offered in over 1,300 schools in 45 states and the District of Columbia.<\/p>\n

    The Society of Manufacturing Engineers Education Foundation<\/a> is one of the major funders of Project Lead the Way\u00ae and sponsors a \u00a0week long day camp for 6th – 8th graders,\u00a0called Gateway Academy, which\u00a0is a project based, hands-on curriculum designed by PLTW to introduce middle school students to the fundamentals of science, technology, engineering and math.\u00a0 Campers work together in a fun, exciting environment using leading-edge technologies to sample such disciplines as robotics, aeronautics and eco-design. \u00a0They brainstorm ideas, solve problems and build bridges, race cars and other working models.\u00a0Participation in a Gateway Academy prepares students for the middle school Gateway to Technology pre-engineering curriculum. \u00a0The PLTW Middle School program is called Gateway To Technology, consisting of nine-week, stand-alone units, which can be implemented in grades six through eight, as determined by each school. The curriculum exposes students to a broad overview of the field of technology.\u00a0 The units are:<\/p>\n