Creators Wanted Campaign Wins Top Advocacy Award

In a significant acknowledgment of its impact on shaping the future of manufacturing in the United States, the Creators Wanted campaign, an initiative of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and the Manufacturing Institute (MI), clinched the “Best Advocacy Campaign” Gold award at the 44th annual Salute to Association Excellence. The award, presented on February 27, 2024, by Association Trends, heralds the campaign as the foremost advocacy initiative by an association or nonprofit organization across the nation.

The Big Picture: The accolade comes in the wake of the Creators Wanted Tour’s notable success. Despite a pandemic-related delay in rolling out the immersive experience, the tour embarked on a mission to transform perceptions of modern manufacturing. Between October 2021 and its conclusion, the campaign made 20 stops and traveled more than 25,000 miles, making a historic impact by reshaping career outlooks and enhancing lives across the country.

By the Numbers:

  • Perception Shift: Research by MI and Deloitte revealed a significant rise in parental approval of manufacturing careers, growing from 27% to 40%.
  • Community Engagement: The campaign achieved over 1.5 million email signups from students and mentors, marking the creation of the largest network of its kind.
  • Active Participation: More than 13,000 students and 3,800 career mentors participated in the initiative.
  • Career Outlook Improvement: A striking 84% of participants reported more favorable views of manufacturing careers following their involvement.
  • Opportunity Expansion: CreatorsWanted.org now lists over 400,000 job and training opportunities, offering vast prospects for interested individuals.
  • Media Impact: The campaign generated $5.6 million in positive earned media, reflecting its widespread recognition and approval.

The Bottom Line: “The Creators Wanted campaign’s success not only underscores the critical role of manufacturing in the nation’s economy but also showcases the power of strategic advocacy in driving change and fostering a more positive image of manufacturing careers among the American public,” said Chrys Kefalas, Managing Vice President of Brand Strategy at the NAM and the creator of the initiative.

What’s Next: The tour’s work continues online with an interactive game, career resources and job listings at CreatorsWanted.org, as well as through continued initiatives to build the workforce of the future at the Manufacturing Institute, including MFG Day.

Creators Wanted Tour: Revolutionizing Manufacturing Perceptions

The Big Picture: The Creators Wanted Tour, a project of the National Association of Manufacturers and the Manufacturing Institute, overcoming pandemic delays, made a historic impact on modern manufacturing perceptions. Spanning from October 2021, the tour made 20 stops, traveled over 25,000 miles and profoundly changed lives and career outlooks.

Why It Matters: This initiative wasn’t just about numbers but about creating a real shift in how manufacturing careers are viewed, particularly among the younger generation.

By the Numbers:

  • Parental perception of manufacturing careers rose from 27% to 40% (MI and Deloitte).
  • Over 1.5 million email signups from students and mentors, creating the largest network of its kind.
  • 13,000+ students, 3,800+ career mentors engaged.
  • 84% of participants reported improved views of manufacturing careers.
  • CreatorsWanted.org features 400,000+ job and training opportunities.
  • $5.6 million in positive earned media.

Notable Stops: From the Indy500 to the Dow Great Lakes Bay LPGA Tournament to the Circleville Pumpkin Show, the tour covered significant events and communities across the U.S.

Support: Iconic companies like Honda, Dow, Trane Technologies, Snap-on, Rockwell Automation, Stanley Black and Decker, Pfizer and Nephron Pharmaceuticals, among over 70 others, made this campaign possible.

The last word: “Every stop on the Creators Wanted Tour marked a step toward redefining modern manufacturing as a coveted career choice. Engaging with thousands of future creators, I saw firsthand the dynamic shift in their aspirations and attitudes toward the industry. We renewed the ‘dignity of manufacturing work’ and altered the trajectory of people’s lives,” says Chrys Kefalas, Managing Vice President of Brand Strategy at the NAM, who served as the chief architect and strategist for the Creators Wanted campaign.

What’s Next: The tour’s work continues online with an interactive game, career resources and job listings at CreatorsWanted.org, as well as through continued initiatives to build the workforce of the future at the Manufacturing Institute.

Creators Wanted Tour Sets New Records at Ohio Finale

The size of the Great Pumpkin at the 116th annual Circleville Pumpkin Show—Ohio’s iconic fall fest—wasn’t the only record shattered there last week. The Creators Wanted Tour, a historic initiative of the NAM and the Manufacturing Institute to build excitement about modern manufacturing careers, reached new highs for engagement at its 20th and final stop.

Driving the news: The show attracted a crowd of more than 400,000, with “Creators Wanted” the most prominent brand seen and heard throughout the entire event. Of show attendees, the Creators Wanted activation pulled in a tour record of 2,024 participants comprising students and chaperones, taking the immersive experience’s overall total to just shy of 17,000 in two years.

  • The digital campaign surrounding the stop collected an additional 110,000 email signups from students and career mentors interested in learning more about modern manufacturing careers, bumping the campaign’s email list above 1.6 million.
  • The tour stop also saturated local news, with NBC410TV CBS and WTTE Fox all sending live crews to the experience.

Why it matters: The stop, sponsored by the joint venture of Honda and LG Energy Solution and in partnership with the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association, comes at a critical time for the nation’s manufacturers, as they compete against other industries to fill available job openings today and win the interest of young people for the careers of tomorrow.

  • For example, Honda and LG Energy Solution need to hire 2,200 workers within two years for their new electrical vehicle battery plant in Fayette County, Ohio.
  • At the stop, Honda and LG Energy Solution joint venture associates were on hand to provide information about modern manufacturing careers generally and about opportunities at the EV plant specifically. The traffic around the experience was so robust that all recruiting materials were exhausted before the event wrapped up.

Zoom in: On Saturday night, the Creators Wanted team also reinforced the industry’s commitment to communities by leading the largest parade of the show, in front of tens of thousands who heard the public address system broadcast the industry’s call for creators and highlight the campaign’s career resources at CreatorsWanted.org.

  • NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons, a proud son of Circleville and Chillicothe, Ohio, also addressed an assembling of Ohio’s young women leaders and their families, emphasizing their capacity to make a difference in manufacturing careers while at the same time noting mentorship resources available to them through the MI’s Women MAKE America initiative.
  • The tour’s innovative approach received strong approval from state and local officials, strengthening the campaign’s ability to reach students and constituents. Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague, State Auditor Keith Faber, State Sen. Michele Reynolds and State Reps. Brian Stewart and Mark Johnson, among others, stopped by to see what the buzz was all about.

Tour highlights: Beyond the pumpkin-centric celebrations, the tour also took its message of opportunity and rewarding careers to the new, state-of-the-art Logan Elm School, a combined elementary, middle and high school, as well as to students of the Ohio State University’s Center for Design and Manufacturing Excellence.

  • At Logan Elm, Timmons was joined by OMA President Ryan Augsburger, Honda and LG Energy Solution joint venture representative and engineer Sandip Suvedi and representatives from Sofidel America. Honda engineer Meredith Reffey, who is now Honda America’s department lead for workforce partnership, joined Timmons and MI President and Executive Director Carolyn Lee at OSU. (The MI is the workforce development and education affiliate of the NAM.)

The big number: Post-tour surveys show that 84% of participants now view the manufacturing sector more positively.

On the record: “Closing our expansive 20-stop, 25,000+ mile tour at such a dynamic event serves as a potent reminder: the heartbeat of manufacturing lies within our communities,” said Timmons. “It’s in the eyes of the young dreamers in the crowd, the hands of our diligent staff and the spirits of every individual who championed our journey.”

  • “The Creators Wanted Tour helped us shift perceptions, but we also know the hard work of continuing to improve perceptions and build the workforce of the future goes on,” said Lee. “The Manufacturing Institute, with our scaled-up efforts to drive solutions with manufacturers and across the industry and the robust digital network and resources the campaign has created will build on the tour’s momentum to do even more.”

The last word: “Our aspiration with Creators Wanted was straightforward yet audacious: to transcend traditional boundaries, step out of the corridors of Washington, D.C., and engage directly with communities across the country,” said NAM Managing Vice President of Brand Strategy Chrys Kefalas. “That’s exactly what we and the manufacturers who joined this tour and campaign did, and we’ve made a lasting positive difference in people’s lives that will outlive this tour and help the industry for decades to come.”

This article was originally published October 24, 2023, on NAM.org. 

Creators Wanted Tour Culminates at Pumpkin Show

The Creators Wanted campaign—an initiative of the NAM and the Manufacturing Institute aimed at driving excitement about modern manufacturing careers—is concluding the wildly successful run of its immersive experience with a significant finale at the Circleville Pumpkin Show,one of the largest annual festivals in the country.

By the numbers: Since it began last year, Creators Wanted has created quite a stir.

  • More than 13,000 students, educators and community leaders have engaged with the tour directly.
  • Online, 1.5 million students and mentors have signed up to explore modern manufacturing careers.
  • A whopping 84% of tour participants now view manufacturing careers more positively.
  • Positive industry perception among parents has jumped nationwide from 27% to 40%, thanks in part to the tour and associated MI programs.


Watch a recap of the tour featuring the voices of students, educators and parents who share their perspective on the tour’s impact.

Next week: From Oct. 17–21, half a million attendees, including families and students, will have a chance to experience the tour’s immersive setup, a featured event at this year’s show.

  • Manufacturing team members from the Honda and LG Energy Solution joint venture (the tour stop’s sponsor) will be present, offering insights into modern manufacturing careers.
  • The Creators Wanted online training program and jobs resource will be showcased, and the tour will engage with local schools, particularly STEM students, amplifying the opportunities in manufacturing.

The big picture: With industries vying for the best talent amid continued labor challenges, initiatives like the Creators Wanted Tour play an essential role in reshaping public perceptions and attracting the next generation into manufacturing over other potential career options.

What’s next: “Now, we know our work is far from over, and so our work goes on with the MI, building on this momentum, along with Creators Wanted digital resources, ” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons, who also serves as chairman of the board of the MI.

Creators Wanted July 2023 Update

The Creators Wanted Tour’s Spring 2023 season is behind us, but there’s a lot to reflect on and look forward to about our campaign to build excitement about modern manufacturing careers in the United States. Chrys Kefalas, Managing Vice President of the National Association of Manufacturers, chief strategist for the campaign jointly run by the NAM and the Manufacturing Institute, has an update:


Click here for a shareable progress report on Creators Wanted.

 

Creators Wanted Tour Revs Up at Indy 500

The Creators Wanted Tour, a joint project of the National Association of Manufacturers and the Manufacturing Institute, set new records at the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”: the Indianapolis 500.

By the numbers: The tour’s 17th stop, generously sponsored by Snap-On, allowed nearly 1,600 young fans and their families to experience modern manufacturing first-hand.

  • In addition, more than 72,000 students and career mentors signed up online to learn more about manufacturing careers.
  • So far, over 10,000 students have taken part in the immersive experience since its launch in October 2021, with 84% of participants reporting an improved view of modern manufacturing careers. Online signups have now surpassed 1.3 million.

What they’re saying: “’Creators Wanted’ is a critical message to all young people, parents, caregivers and educators across our country,” said Snap-on Chairman and Chief Executive Nick Pinchuk, who is also an NAM executive committee member and MI board member.

  • “Snap-on is proud to bring the Creators Wanted Tour to the IMS and the Indianapolis 500, showing younger race fans and their families that manufacturing is an exciting place where the opportunities are many, the careers are rewarding and the lives are filled with the pride of being part of something greater than yourself,” he continued.
  • NAM President and CEO and MI Chairman of the Board Jay Timmons added, “The world’s largest single day sporting event met the nation’s largest manufacturing campaign—and it revved up enthusiasm about modern manufacturing in a big way with more students and their families.”

Behind the scenes: Alongside the Creators Wanted experience at Fan Midway at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), fans were also treated to a number of other interactive exhibits.

  • These included: Snap-on’s “Makers and Fixers” tent; Honda’s racing simulator and vehicle fleet; the IMS Kids Zone where young fans raced on their own track; and FactoryFix’s activities and resources to help people find their path into manufacturing careers, including its work through CreatorsWanted.org.
  • “Seeing folks at Indy curious about our ‘Creators Wanted’ campaign was such a great confirmation of the research and testing we did to arrive at the name for this effort,” said Erin Streeter, Executive Vice President of the NAM. “When parents and kids asked us about the type of creators we need in manufacturing, it just showed how spot-on our message really is.”
  • The NAM video team captured some of the fan sentiment with this video.

The big picture: “These tour stops often serve as the first interaction individuals have with the NAM and the MI, and the impression is powerful,” said Chrys Kefalas, Managing Vice President of Brand Strategy at the NAM. ” These meaningful personal interactions create lasting impressions and underscore the industry’s value.”

This article was originally published May 30, 2023, on NAM.org. 

Students Build the Future in Ohio

Where can you “race to the future” in a mobile, immersive manufacturing experience, try your hand at cutting-edge technology and get free career advice from top professionals? At a Creators Wanted stop, of course.

Participants at last week’s Creators Wanted stops in Marysville and Columbus, Ohio, did all this and more.

Two stops, one week: The Honda Heritage Center was the site of two days of educational fun last Wednesday and Thursday, after which the Creators Wanted Tour continued on to the COSI Science Festival in Columbus, Ohio’s largest STEM event, on Saturday.

  • The stops were the 15th and 16th, respectively, on Creators Wanted’s nationwide tour, an initiative of the NAM and its 501(c)3 workforce development and education affiliate, the Manufacturing Institute.
  • The tour aims to shore up the manufacturing workforce by 600,000 workers, increase the number of students enrolling in technical and vocational schools or reskilling programs by 25% and boost the positive perception of the industry among parents from 27% to 50%—all by 2025.
  • Nearly 1,000 kids and adults came through the Creators Wanted immersive experience during its three days in Ohio, and 35,000 students and career mentors signed up to learn more about modern manufacturing careers, increasing the network to 1.2 million nationwide.

Sites to behold: More than 300 students from central Ohio schools toured the Honda Heritage Center on Wednesday and Thursday.

  • Students learned about the American Honda Motor Company’s rich history of innovation, beginning in 1959, and toured the Honda Technical Development Center, where Honda associates advance their skills in high-tech manufacturing.
  • Tour sponsor FactoryFix was on hand, too, helping students explore pathways to manufacturing careers through information handouts and in-person Q&As with company representatives.

Theme-park lines: At COSI, the Creators Wanted experience had the festival buzzing, with attendees lining up to take their turn. More than 675 kids and adults moved through the unit in just six hours.

  • “We built this experience to excite future creators and their career mentors like parents,” said NAM Managing Vice President of Brand Strategy Chrys Kefalas, who was onsite with the tour. “I’m not sure anyone fully anticipated how much of an attraction we’d be with the immersive experience—it’s a huge draw.”

A big commitment: Tour-stop host Honda—which has been instrumental in the launch and continuation of Creators Wanted—announced that it will increase its overall commitment to the Creators Wanted campaign to $2.25 million through 2025.

  • “Creators Wanted is a great opportunity to showcase what the modern manufacturing environment is like and what the career opportunities are,” said American Honda Motor Company Executive Vice President Bob Nelson. “And there are many career opportunities for everyone.”
  • “Honda’s incredible support and leadership has empowered our innovative campaign to thrive—to inspire students, to positively affect parents and teachers and, now with Creators Connect, to change even more lives,” said NAM President and CEO and MI Chairman of the Board Jay Timmons.
  • Sara Tracey, managing director of workforce services for the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association, which participated in the events, added, “There are so many opportunities [in manufacturing] for people, regardless of what their interests are.”

“Build the future”: At both the Honda Heritage Center and COSI, there was plenty for participants to do as well as see.

  • Students, parents and other attendees from local communities got the chance to use some of the latest items produced by manufacturers. These included Honda’s virtual-reality paint simulator and Honda’s safety car interactive display, as well as the many hands-on manufacturing challenges in the Creators Wanted mobile experience.
  • “Know that there is a place for you in manufacturing to put whatever your skills and interests and passions are to work to build the future,” said MI President and Executive Director Carolyn Lee.

A great place to work: Many Honda associates—eager to share their positive experiences—participated in the week’s events, too, and had great things to say about modern manufacturing careers while on the ground at COSI.

  • “I don’t think people realize how complex a vehicle is,” said one participating Honda associate. “The work and the people behind it, and the effort it takes to bring it to market—I can’t express how much fun that really is.”
  • Said another, “I like that every day is a little bit different.” 

Behind the scenes: Interested in seeing how the Creators Wanted activation at COSI unfolded? Check out the NAM’s Instagram story from this weekend here.

This article was originally published May 9, 2023, on NAM.org. 

“The Best Thing I Ever Did”: Creators Wanted Stops in Louisiana

It was the 14th stop of the Creators Wanted Tour, but the level of enthusiasm among attendees made it seem like the first.

What happened: This week’s visit of the award-winning mobile immersive experience—an initiative of the NAM and its 501(c)3 workforce development and education affiliate, the Manufacturing Institute—to the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, area was an unequivocal hit.

  • Hosted by Dow with the participation of Union Pacific, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, FactoryFix, River Parishes Community College and BASF, the event drew more than 500 students to the college’s Westside Campus in Plaquemine, Louisiana. Students came from the college as well as area middle and high schools.
  • The digital campaign signed up more than 26,000 new students and career mentors in Louisiana to learn more about modern manufacturing. In addition, Dow (a third-time Creators Wanted host) and Union Pacific had team members on-site to answer students’ questions about their careers.

High tech: Dow displayed drones and robots—including one named Spot—to give students a peek at some of the cutting-edge technologies they might expect to work with in manufacturing. Meanwhile, Union Pacific offered 3D virtual tours of company operations.

Manufacturing is everywhere: River Parishes Community College Chancellor Quintin D. Taylor, who gave opening remarks at the kickoff event, emphasized the extent to which manufacturing touches everyone each day—and how fulfilling a career in it can be.

  • “Even the toothpaste we all used this morning was made in a facility that does manufacturing,” Taylor said. “Should a time come in your life where you decide to have a family, you have to be gainfully employed to take care of your family. Manufacturing is just one of many careers, quite frankly, that can help you do that.”

“Be somebody big”: Union Pacific Executive Vice President of Marketing and Sales Kenny Rocker seconded that sentiment.

  • “Who wants to make the world better and make a lot of money doing it?” Rocker asked the audience to a show of numerous hands. With a manufacturing career, “you can be the GOAT in your family,” he continued, referring to the acronym meaning “Greatest of All Time.” “You can be somebody big in your family.”
  • Stay tuned: Union Pacific will host a Creators Wanted stop in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area in the fall.

Creators required: There’s an acute need for more workers in manufacturing, MI President and Executive Director Carolyn Lee said, and there’s something in it for everyone.

  • “I can promise you if you are interested in designing, building, solving, creating things, fixing things with your hands, just figuring stuff out, there is a home for you in manufacturing,” she said.
  • Lee cited research by the MI and Deloitte that found if current trends continue, manufacturers will need to fill some 4 million jobs by the end of this decade.

Autograph-worthy: Attendees were so inspired by the kickoff-event remarks of Dow Chairman and CEO (and NAM Board Chair) Jim Fitterling—who spoke about students’ opportunities to do something historic in their careers—that several requested his autograph.

  • “The world’s going through one of the biggest changes since we industrialized the United States,” said Fitterling, who along with NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons wrote an op-ed about the tour that appeared in the Louisiana Policy Review this week.
  • “We’re about to go through another … massive change because we’re going to reindustrialize this country. And that means you are going to get to work on some of the biggest projects that we have ever seen in the world.”
  • Fitterling, who personally took students through the Creators Wanted immersive experience before his talk, emphasized, “We’re here to see you. We’re interested in you. We want you to have a great future, and we want you to have … opportunities.”

“I’m still having fun”: Panel discussions featured leaders and team members from Dow as well as Turner Industries, giving students a more in-depth perspective about modern manufacturing careers.

  • During an on-stage discussion with Fitterling, Dow Senior Lead Site Manufacturing Director Crystal King told the audience how she came to choose engineering: her mother chose it for her.
  • “When I was in 10th grade, my mom asked me what did I want to do,” King said. She had said she wanted to go into education because her mother was a teacher. Then her mother “explained that when she went to college, there were only two things that, as an African-American female, she could be. One was a teacher, and one was a nurse. And I needed to do something other than either one of the two of them.”
  • Despite thinking she “would hate” being an engineer, King loved it—and she still loves it. “This is the best job in the world,” she told the audience. “I tease Jim [Fitterling]—I say, ‘When I stop having fun, I’m going home.’ I’m still having fun.”

The reception: In addition to a student who was “left … speechless” by the week’s events and another who called Creators Wanted “the best thing I ever did,” the tour stop had social media abuzz with praise for the initiative:

  • “Thank you to #CreatorsWanted for hosting our students over the past two days,” tweeted White Castle High School. “The students had a great time learning and building excitement about modern manufacturing careers.”
  • “Our Juniors and Seniors are having a fantastic time at #creatorswanted today!” tweeted Plaquemine High School. “They’re expanding their knowledge of the manufacturing industry and workforce, while also getting a chance to tour RPCC. A big thank you to #Creatorswanted, Dow and RPCC for this opportunity!”

Coming up: Creators Wanted will travel to Marysville and Columbus, Ohio, next week for stops at the Honda Heritage Center and the COSI Science Festival, sponsored by Honda. Later in May, the tour goes to the Indy 500 in Indianapolis.

Creators Wanted in action: See herehere and here for exciting footage of this week’s tour stop, including the remarks of LABI Interim President and CEO Jim Patterson.

This article was originally published April 28, 2023, on NAM.org. 

The Next Step in Building the Manufacturing Workforce

As part of the Creators Wanted campaign, the NAM and the Manufacturing Institute have partnered with FactoryFix, a leading one-stop solution for manufacturing recruitment, to launch Creators Connect.

  • The digital career-resources platform aims to address the skills gap and misperceptions about the manufacturing industry, providing manufacturers with a powerful new tool to help build their workforces.

What it is: The platform, which is housed on Creatorswanted.org and powered by FactoryFix, is free to use. It is the first and only unified platform where users can search and explore job openings, career pathways and job training programs across the entire manufacturing sector.

  • With more than 400,000 listed job openings, Creators Connect builds on the success of its parent initiative, Creators Wanted, the award-winning, national workforce and perception campaign of the NAM and its 501(c)3 workforce development and education partner, the MI.
  • Creators Wanted, which has an email network of more than 1 million students, job seekers and career influencers, aims to recruit 600,000 new manufacturing workers by 2025.
  • It is also working to boost the number of students enrolling in technical and vocational schools or reskilling programs by 25% and to increase the positive perception of the manufacturing industry among parents and career influencers.

Why it’s important: “Addressing the workforce crisis is among the top concerns for manufacturers across the country,” said NAM President and CEO and Manufacturing Institute Board Chair Jay Timmons.

  • “While we cannot fully solve this challenge without immigration reform, manufacturers are determined to lift up more people in the United States with the promise and reward of modern manufacturing careers—and Creators Wanted’s new digital career resources platform is another way that manufacturers are leading with solutions.”

What’s next: The platform will benefit from FactoryFix’s talent network of more than 650,000 manufacturing workers—and the NAM and FactoryFix are confident it will help fill much-needed manufacturing jobs.

  • Said FactoryFix CEO and Founder Patrick O’Rahilly: “As a one-stop recruiting solution for manufacturers to find qualified and engaged candidates, we’re looking forward to increasing our impact in addressing the labor shortage and helping more Americans create their future in modern manufacturing.”

Learn more about how to get the most out of Creators Connect by visiting the FAQ page here. Questions? Contact the Creators Wanted team here.

This article was originally published February 17, 2023, on NAM.org. 

Creators Wanted Gets Big Results

With a skills gap and misperceptions about modern manufacturing threatening to leave millions of manufacturing jobs unfilled by 2030, Creators Wanted, a campaign by the NAM and the Manufacturing Institute, stepped in. Now, it is seeing eye-popping results as it works to inspire 600,000 new manufacturers by 2025.

Connecting with communities: From July through November of this year, Creators Wanted continued to take its tour to communities across the country, offering potential manufacturers, career influencers and community leaders an exciting opportunity to learn about modern industry. Stops included Midland, MichiganNashville/White House, TennesseeWest Columbia, South CarolinaDecatur, Illinois; and Chicago, Illinois.

Promoting knowledge: These latest stops have bolstered the tour’s overall reach. As of this month, the tour has brought 7,900 students through its immersive experience and motivated 840,000 students and potential career mentors—including parents and educators—to sign up online to learn more about manufacturing careers.

  • “Our propriety algorithm for directing our campaign’s content to potential future manufacturers continues to get even more effective as we engage more people,” said NAM Managing Vice President of Brand Strategy Chrys Kefalas.
  • “We’ve added more than 500,000 people to our email network since only September, giving the industry a powerful tool to reengage important audiences in building the future workforce.”

Changing minds: Creators Wanted is focused on exposing students, parents and teachers to the reality of modern manufacturing to challenge outdated notions and encourage young people to see manufacturing as a potential career.

  • Approximately 75%of people who have participated in the tour reported that they left the experience with a significantly improved view of modern manufacturing careers.

Getting the word out: In addition, Creators Wanted has generated approximately $5 million in positive earned media about the campaign and modern manufacturing careers—ensuring that people across the country gained greater awareness of the campaign’s resources and significant need for talent in manufacturing.

Building on progress: These results build on the sustained workforce solutions of the MI, the workforce development and education partner of the NAM, which runs programs geared toward women, veterans and underrepresented communities.

  • The MI and Deloitte report that positive perception of manufacturing careers among parents has soared from 27% when the tour started to 40% today—closing in on the goal of 50% by 2025.

The road ahead: The campaign will soon deploy additional resources for job seekers and students at CreatorsWanted.org, in partnership with FactoryFix, the official recruiting partner of the campaign. Find out more about the Creators Wanted campaign here.

This article was originally published December 15, 2022, on NAM.org.