The skilled worker shortage can be improved through employer engagement with their communities.
There are numerous programs that manufacturers can engage with students to offer a real experience in the world of manufacturing.
- Manufacturing Day - national movement where manufacturers provide tours to young people in early October each year.
- Manufacturer Presentation – present information about today's manufacturing to a group of students using the Explore The New Manufacturing toolkit
- Manufacturing Innovation Challenge – provide a real-world research project for classes of middle and high school students, who will tackle the work in the classroom to develop a solution, and then present their results
- Explore the New Manufacturing Student Video Contest - addressing the need of skilled workers by having local middle-school students develop an awareness program for the manufacturing community, creating an accurate image of manufacturing to their peers, parents, and teachers
- Manufacturing Internship with Innovation Works - assist your manufacturing company by finding qualified summer internship candidates to supplement your existing workforce and build a pipeline of talent to fulfill future hiring needs
- BotsIQ – engage with local high school students in an educational robotics competition that provides a unique, hands-on experience that allows them to discover the career possibilities in the manufacturing sector
- NFPA Fluid Power Challenge - encourage middle school students to solve an engineering problem using fluid power
- Plant Tour – show students what manufacturing is like today with a group tour
- Apprenticeships – develop skilled workers through an apprenticeship program like those offered through New Century Careers and the National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA)
Catalyst Connection has launched the Explore the New Manufacturing program with funding provided from the Alcoa Foundation and the Benedum Foundation.
Watch our NEW promotional video for Explore The New Manufacturing, We Do That!
Click here to view the Resources related to this program.
Click here to view an overview of key manufacturing statistics.
Interested in presenting information about the Explore the New Manufacturing at your local high school? Click here to view the presentation.