Author: SRashid

Through a global pandemic, manufacturers have led the way on health and safety measures, helping keep Americans working—for the U.S. and the world. Now the manufacturing industry continues that leadership while recruiting and inspiring the creators of the future.

On the road: Creators Wanted, the workforce campaign of the National Association of Manufacturers and The Manufacturing Institute, is getting ready to hit the road. The campaign formalized its COVID-19 safety protocols and is employing state-of-the-art technologies, like Sphere Synexis, provided by legacy sponsor Trane Technologies, to continuously fight viruses, bacteria and other hazards in the air and on surfaces. The mobile experience, along with other programming events and new online resources, will bring the story of modern manufacturing to communities across the country. 

• The experience, recently endorsed by The Dallas Morning News, is designed to capture the imaginations of students, teachers and parents and inspire the next generation of manufacturers. 
• It will complement the upcoming release of the NAM and MI’s innovative online resources for those seeking a career in manufacturing.

Coming to a town near you: The NAM and MI released the following Creators Wanted Live tour dates and stops.

• Oct. 4–7: Columbus, Ohio
• Oct. 20–22: West Columbia, South Carolina
• Nov. 8–10: Pella, Iowa
• Nov. 16–19: Charlotte, North Carolina
• Nov. 30 – Dec. 3: Dallas, Texas

Wait, there’s more! Community programming stops are also coming to Freeport, Texas; Detroit, Michigan; Guthrie, Kentucky; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Carson City, Nevada. And a new suite of digital and online experiences and tools will bring the campaign to every state.

Thanks to strong support: “Our ability to mount this bold solution to the workforce crisis through the difficulties of a pandemic has been anything but certain,” NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons and NAM Board Chair Mike Lamach said in a joint message to NAM membership. “It has taken the unwavering and strong support of some of America’s leading enterprises and business leaders to keep this campaign alive.”

See the full list of Creators Wanted sponsors here. Want to support the effort? Get involved–at any price point–here.

The Creators Wanted Mobile Experience is readying to tour communities across the country and come to homes nationwide via a first-of-its-kind online experience. But, before The Dallas Morning News-endorsed experience, which is designed to recruit new manufacturers and to inspire, educate and empower the next generation of creators, hits the road, the team put it to the test with students and parents.

Methodology: Finsbury Glover Hering (FGH), a leading global strategic communications and public affairs consultancy, came to Dallas, Texas, to observe and question three groups: students ages 15-17, students ages 18-22 and parents who have children ages 15-22. The groups were divided into three sections: an initial conversation about career ambitions and perceptions of manufacturing; a walk-through of the Creators Wanted Mobile Experience; and a discussion of the experience and post-walk through of impressions of manufacturing.

Before the experience: During questioning, manufacturing was not on the radar when audiences considered viable career options. Instead, popular fields like medicine and technology dominated the discussion. Parents and students were skeptical about manufacturing’s ability to instill pride, create fulfilling and rewarding paths and bolster opportunities to grow and advance.

After the experience: In rapid shifts, the Creators Wanted Mobile Experience turned opinions of manufacturing careers almost entirely around. FGH researchers found that, after going through the experience, people came to appreciate manufacturing as a sector that offers:

• Diversity: Both in terms of the workforce and the range of skills and career opportunities in the sector.
• High-end careers: Technology and design are recognized as an integral part in the sector that brings exciting job opportunities.
• Competitive wages: Facts about $29/hour wages surprise people and leave a lasting impression.
• Job security: Students remember information about demand for “millions” of roles and the large size of the sector as part of the national economy.
• The chance to have an impact: Teens recall points about Crayola and cosmetic products, and have a stronger sense of the role manufacturing has in our everyday lives.
• Careers you can be proud of: Parents link a strong U.S. manufacturing sector to national self-reliance, and talk about it with a sense of patriotism.

More than just numbers: “How we’re getting our messages across about manufacturing careers is just as important as what we’re saying,” Chrys Kefalas, NAM Vice President of Brand Strategy. “We earned great reactions from these students and parents because we were able to get them to work as teams, to solve problems and to communicate together—to do what manufacturers do every day—to get through each room of the experience and complete the challenge. As one student told FGH, ‘It’s fun as you’re learning something by doing it.’”

“Escape Room” concept hits the mark: FGH found that experience was “fun and appealing for all ages.” The audiences took on a more relaxed and competitive spirit in response to the activities. “The atmosphere was fun, really interactive and upbeat,” said a student in the age 15-17 group.

Bottom line:  “We have a record of nearly 900,000 open jobs in modern manufacturing today, and 4 million jobs to fill, according to The Manufacturing and Deloitte, by 2030. We knew we had to try something different to recruit and excite the next generation. We’re about to hit the next phase of our campaign to bring more of these rewarding opportunities to more people—and now we can be even more confident that we have the right approaches and messages to get the job done for manufacturers and for our country.”

We’re just two months away from MFG Day 2021! If you’re a manufacturer and you haven’t done so already, it’s time to start thinking about hosting an event.

Read more from the NAM.

“[Creators Wanted] is how we build a worker pipeline to support the economic rebound,” said The Dallas Morning News Editorial Board. The ringing endorsement comes after the newspaper previewed the campaign and mobile experience in Dallas, while the team makes final preparations for the September 2021 launch of the in-person tour.

Other highlights from the editorial:

• “With competition for employees at historic highs, one trade association is ramping up recruitment efforts to reach potential workers earlier and more creatively than ever. This is a smart approach that may be a harbinger of things to come ….”

• “The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) has created a campaign called ‘Creators Wanted’ that will visit schools and community gathering places around the country in coming months to attract future workers to that industry. Creators Wanted features a tractor-trailer-mounted escape room and “immersive experience” designed to hold kids’ attention while also overcoming stereotypes that keep students from choosing careers in manufacturing.”

• “[The Creators Wanted] impulse is well-conceived and perfectly timed.”

• “Creators Wanted is a clever approach that teens will enjoy. We encourage parents and guidance counselors to consider it. But the larger point here is about the pipeline of workers needed to ensure our economy can continue to grow. NAM has taken the initiative to improve that pipeline, putting them ahead of the competition for now. We hope to see others join that race soon.”

To read the full piece, click here.

The NAM and The Manufacturing Institute unveiled their Creators Wanted experience last week in Dallas, previewing it for the NAM’s Executive Committee as well as local business leaders, workforce development officials and the media. Visitors got an exclusive look at this “mobile manufacturing experience” that will soon embark on a tour around the country, showing Americans what modern manufacturing is all about.

Read more from the NAM.

When the industry’s largest workforce campaign, Creators Wanted, was gearing up for its national, in-person mobile tour last year, no one expected a global pandemic to stop it in its tracks. But now, through the creative use of virtual tours and programs, the campaign is well on its way toward reaching its goals. 

A recap: The Creators Wanted campaign is aiming to reduce the skills gap by 600,000 workers; increase by 25% the number of students enrolling in technical and vocational schools or reskilling programs; and double the positive perception of manufacturing careers. It set a target of reaching 15 million to 20 million students and emerging workers in a sustained way through its programming. But even though the in-person tour is still on hold, the virtual version is going full speed.

The latest: The Creators Wanted campaign has held five virtual events already this year, bringing the modern manufacturing story to the Gulf Coast region of Florida, South Carolina and Connecticut. It has another event coming up on May 13 with Rockwell Automation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

The numbers: “The Creators Wanted virtual events are averaging 4,392 total views per event,” said NAM Vice President of Brand Strategy Chrys Kefalas. “Our attendance average is 119%, meaning more people attend than register for our events. That number is far higher than the industry average of 35–45%. And on social media, we’re seeing videos average more than 130,000 views, while our posts reach almost 1 million per event.”

But there’s more: “With the launch of our ‘Making the Future’ episodes on what’s happening in modern manufacturing today, we’re delivering the type of on-demand stories that audiences today are seeking,” said Kefalas. “We’re meeting people where they are, which is especially important for correcting misperceptions of manufacturing and reaching people who don’t (yet) know they’d be perfect for it.” 

The premiere episode: In the early days of the pandemic, retailers and consumers faced a shortage of an indispensable material: toilet paper. How did it happen, and how did manufacturers fix it? “On a Roll: How Manufacturers Solved the Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020,” the first of the “Making the Future” episodes, lays out the story. You can watch it at the link.

This piece first appeared in the National Association of Manufacturers’ morning newsletter for manufacturing executives, Input, on May 7, 2021.

West Columbia, S.C. — In celebration of Women’s History Month, on March 24, 2021, Creators Wanted brought a message of opportunity and empowerment to South Carolina for the third event of the campaign’s virtual event series: “Creators Stories: Women Make Manufacturing.” Hosted by Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation, which makes, among other products, a significant portion of the nebulizer medicines used in the treatment of COVID-19 in the United States, leading women in manufacturing took center stage to share their insights about manufacturing careers.

The numbers: Manufacturers in the United States have 515,000 open jobs, according to Carolyn Lee, Executive Director of The Manufacturing Institute. In 2020, South Carolina had 21,818 open manufacturing jobs. While 47% of the U.S. labor force is made up of women, only about 29% of the manufacturing workforce is female, Lee reported during the virtual program broadcasted nationwide.” “Women represent [the] largest pool of untapped talent,” said Lee.

How Nephron Pharmaceuticals fits in? The company is a best-in-class example of a diverse workforce. “We’re 53% female in this workforce,” said Lou Kennedy, president, CEO and owner of Nephron Pharmaceuticals, with 42 countries represented among its employees. 

Spotlight on Kennedy: Among manufacturing executives, Kennedy has emerged as a leading voice and champion on building the future manufacturing workforce, but her path into manufacturing was anything but certain. While she’d been “fascinated by the manufacturing process … [her] whole life” (her father was in manufacturing of plastic and fiber), Kennedy went to school for journalism. It took an introduction to the manufacturing of respiratory medications, which her child was taking, to set her on a course to leading Nephron Pharmaceuticals. So in 2007, without a chemistry or engineering background, Kennedy jumped in, helping to propel unprecedented growth at the company. Her advice to other women: “Be bold and don’t be afraid to fail.” And, for those younger in their career journeys, Kennedy suggested a blended course of study, not “just stick[ing] to one core set of topics or subjects.”  

Why manufacturing? Two dynamic manufacturers, who’ve risen up the ranks in manufacturing enterprises, added their perspectives to the program on the draw of a modern manufacturing career. 

• Lindsay Leonard, Senior Director, National Strategy & Engagement, Government Operations, Boeing: “[Y]ou’re part of building the product. In our case, it’s airplanes. You’re part of building an ecosystem. You’re part of building people’s futures and manufacturing facilities are generational career choices that they’re around for much longer than my individual career. Pretty much everything I get to do, I see a tangible result. And that’s a pretty cool place to find yourself in your career …. [In] manufacturing the world is your oyster. It’s endless possibility and opportunity.”

• Katarina Fjording, Head of Volvo Car University & Sustainability Americas, Volvo Car USA: “[I]t’s safe, it’s well paid, and creating is very rewarding. And also [the] manufacturing industry is very broad. The career possibilities are endless both for generalists and specialists. And it’s also very interesting and it’s fun. If for whatever reason you would choose to want to go somewhere else, having a background in industry and manufacturing is highly coveted from other areas of business.”

Moms in manufacturing: AJ Jorgenson, MI Vice President of Strategic Program Engagement joined Meena Banasiak, Vice President of Quality and Corporate Social Responsibility at Phoenix Closures and Brooke Wynn, Senior Director of Sustainability at Smithfield Foods, Inc., to provide the insights of moms in manufacturing.

What next? “STEP, it’s our STEP Women’s Initiative and that stands for science, technology, engineering, and production,” said Lee. “And our STEP Women’s Initiative is going into our ninth year and it’s really the nation’s marquee program for women in manufacturing, and it’s dedicated to fostering a 21st century modern manufacturing workforce that gives women the recognition and the support they deserve.” Click here to learn more.

Watch “Creators Stories: Women Make Manufacturing”.