Inspiring The Next Generation of Manufacturers
Manufacturing Day is the first Friday in October — and this year it occurs on Oct 6, 2017. It’s a celebration of modern manufacturing intended to inspire the next generation of manufacturers. Current manufacturers invite students, families, and educators to their facilities to educate them about career opportunities and improve the awareness and perception of manufacturing. Students who participated in Manufacturing Day last year reported some encouraging results which you can see in this infographic. 84 percent stated that they were more convinced that manufacturing provides careers that are rewarding and interesting – while 64 percent were more motivated to pursue a career in manufacturing!
Couragion is focused on improving the perception and awareness of all STEM careers. We’ve had the honor of featuring some incredible advanced manufacturing companies in the outdoor recreation, aerospace, and aviation fields. The Couragion career exploration application enables students to 'visit' manufacturing facilities virtually any day of the year - not just on Manufacturing Day. Here are a few student comments after being exposed to these manufacturing careers:
“I have a class where I can 3D print and it was awesome, so I think it would be the same thing but more challenging!!”
“This job sounds really fun being able to work with your hands and other people to make products that are made to make other people happy.”
“I've helped in building mechanical robots for robotics and I thought it was fun, so a career similar to this would be great.”
Back in June we published a blog about the US Public Opinion Of Manufacturing study written by Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute. This 6th release of the study provided insights about manufacturing job growth and summarized the public’s views about the sector. We'd recommend that you reference that blog to help prepare for Manufacturing Day, but we also wanted to share a few additional fun facts:
In 2015, the average U.S. manufacturing worker earned $81K annually. Manufacturing jobs pay well above average! According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median wage for U.S. workers is $44K per year.
U.S. manufacturers now post more jobs for software developers than production workers. This is a signal that the products we make and methods used to make them are increasingly driven by computers! Check out the Burning Glass report here.
Most U.S. manufacturing firms are small. In fact, three-quarters of manufacturing firms have fewer than 20 employees. This is good news since per Couragion’s student workforce data 42 percent of students are interested in working for small companies!
How are you preparing for Manufacturing Day? Be sure to share your activities and adventures with #MFGDay17 and @MfgDay on social media!
Photo: Role Models at West Star Aviation and DT Swiss
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1660021. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.