Manufacturing Day (MFG Day) is an annual event held the first Friday in October which aims to highlight the manufacturing industry and the careers within it. The latter is of significant importance these days as skilled workers are leaving the field, many due to retirement, and fewer are entering the industry.
According to The Manufacturing Institute, manufacturers will be trying to fill 4 million high-skill, high-tech, and high-paying jobs over the next 10 years. As such, they and other organizations as well as various manufacturing industries are working on a variety of initiatives to attract new workers and provide the training necessary for jobs in this field.
MFG Day is one such initiative comprised of events held around the U.S. at manufacturers' locations and at educational institutions to educate people on what the industry actually looks like and the careers possible.
Manufacturing is vital not only for the many products used everyday by consumers and various industries but also as an economic driver. It can provide good-paying jobs and long-lasting careers, and as more automation is being brought into the industry it is also becoming safer and more appealing — let's be honest, everyone wants to work with a robot or other cool automated system at some point, right?
Understanding the importance of manufacturing and the need to rebuild it in the U.S. has been a key initiative for President Biden through bills such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the CHIPS and Science Act, both of which include funding for STEM and other programs that will benefit manufacturing.
READ MORE: How the CHIPS and Science Act Will Benefit Fluid Power and Motion Control Manufacturers
The White House, in conjunction with MFG Day, has released the National Strategy for Advanced Manufacturing which outlines a vision for the U.S. to become a leader in advanced manufacturing. It sets out a series of goals and objectives to be pursued by the public and private sectors over the next 4 years; these include:
- developing and implementing advanced manufacturing technologies
- growing an advanced manufacturing workforce
- developing, scaling and promoting manufacturing talent
- enhancing supply chain interconnections
- strengthening advanced manufacturing ecosystems.
"ASME welcomes the Biden administration’s launch today of the National Strategy for Advanced Manufacturing, which is intended to provide a blueprint for federal government agencies and the nation for the next 4 years. The United States has traditionally lacked a national policy to encourage manufacturing, and this is an important step forward for fostering discussion and collaboration. The ASME community looks forward to working with the Executive Branch and Congress to support the President’s initiative, which focuses on developing and advancing new technologies; growing the manufacturing workforce from K-12 through higher education; and ensuring resiliency of the manufacturing supply chain," said Tom Costabile Executive Director/CEO of ASME, in a press release acknowledging MFG Day and Biden's new initiative.
Over the last several years manufacturing has left the U.S., but by working to bring it back not only will the economy benefit but also supply chains. And to help ensure a strong U.S. manufacturing industry, efforts of all types will be necessary to train and attract new workers of all skillsets. So on this MFG Day, we thought we'd take a look at just some of the many initiatives being undertaken — including those in or related to the fluid power and motion control industries — to attract and train the manufacturing workforce.
NFPA Funding Educational Efforts
Attracting and educating people about the fluid power industry, particularly younger generations, is a key mission for the National Fluid Power Association (NFPA). Fluid power is an important part of manufacturing as both a component of it and a user, so to speak.
And like the manufacturing industry, fluid power struggles to attract people to it. But as part of its many initiatives, NFPA helps support and fund educational efforts at all levels to introduce people to fluid power. It partners with FIRST Robotics and holds its own Fluid Power Vehicle Challenge for college students as just a couple of examples.
The association also offers scholarships and makes efforts to raise money throughout the year to fund these and other educational initiatives. During NFPA's 2022 annual Industry & Economic Outlook Conference (IEOC), President and CEO Eric Lanke announced a record $9,400 was raised during the golf fundraiser held in conjunction with the event. This money will go to the NFPA Education and Technology Foundation which is the association's charitable organization focused on various workforce development efforts.
NFPA also recently announced the foundation will administer a scholarship fund established after the passing of Thomas Wanke, a long-time fluid power industry figure who spent much of his life dedicated to educating people about the industry. Wanke passed away in early 2022 after which his widow set up a donation fund for fluid power scholarships and educational efforts.
The Thomas Wanke Legacy Fund, which has received over $10,000 in donations to date, will now be administered by the NFPA Foundation. Additional donations are being accepted and the NFPA plans to match all of them to help provide an established base for the fund. The plan is to have the fund provide annual awards to help increase the number of students studying fluid power as well as improve education in the field which were important goals for Wanke.
Timken Sees Value in Apprenticeships
In an article contributed to our colleagues at Industry Week by Natasha Pollock, VP of human resources at The Timken Co., it was stressed that apprenticeships offer a valuable way to attract and train potential employees. Pollock states in the piece that Timken has offered manufacturing apprenticeships for over 40 years to provide training and career opportunities. She noted many who have gone through the program have stayed with the company for years and worked their way up into leadership positions.
Apprenticeships can offer a valuable means of getting the training necessary to work in the manufacturing field and provide an alternative to earning a college degree. Pollock said in the article that Timken's apprentices begin learning about the company and its technologies.
In addition, Timken is working with The Manufacturing Institute on its Creators Wanted initiative which aims to help build the future manufacturing workforce.
And check out some of Industry Week's other MFG Day content:
Dispelling Myths on Manufacturing Day
Faces of Manufacturing 2022: Constant Challenge, Call for Creativity, 'No Dull Moments'
Creating a More Diverse Workforce
An aspect which continues to come up time and time again regarding workforce development in the manufacturing industry is the need to attract more diversity — this means getting more women, people of color and others into this typically male dominated industry.
Doing so not only helps to broaden the labor pool but also helps to bring in new ideas and skillsets which may not have been previously considered. Making manufacturing and its related fields more attractive to a broader scope of people will benefit the industry and the economy.
Thankfully, many companies and organizations have realized this and are working to make the industry a more inclusive one.
READ MORE: How do We Shape the Future Workforce?
Several are also understanding that to attract employees, they need to do more than offer good pay. Other benefits such as child care, work flexibility and other things are just as, if not more, important. Danfoss President Eric Alström discussed this subject with Power & Motion's Senior Content Director Bob Vavra in early 2022.
Visit our Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) hub which compiles coverage of gender representation issues affecting the engineering field, in addition to contributions from equity seeking groups and subject matter experts within various subdisciplines.
AEM Forms Partnership for Manufacturing Workforce Training
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), the U.S.-based organization representing the heavy equipment manufacturing industry, recently announced a partnership with Project MFG. Through this partnership the two organizations will work together to help with the development of a skilled manufacturing workforce.
Project MFG works with schools and communities to provide training and holds annual competitions throughout the year during which trainees can show off the skills they've learned.
AEM said the partnership with Project MFG will help not only with its own efforts to educate people about working in the manufacturing industry but also promote the heavy equipment industry and the careers within it. AEM said its members, many of whom are fluid power and other component manufacturers serving heavy machinery OEMs, will benefit from the partnership by having access to new talent and helping drive the skills needed for working in the industry.
Read the full article to learn more: AEM Partners with Project MFG for Workforce Development
Megan Tanel, AEM President, emphasized the importance of manufacturing as well as the need for telling the story of the industry in her recent piece recognizing Manufacturing Day 2022. Manufacturing of heavy-duty equipment and its related components may not always be top of mind for a career, but like other manufacturing related industries is just as viable an option and valuable to the economy.
As such, she stressed the need for AEM and its member companies to continue their efforts to engage with its potential future workforce while also broadening its horizons to learn about new technologies and trends which could benefit manufacturing efforts. Advancing the industry through use of new technologies, such as robotics and other automation solutions, will be just as vital as finding employees and could even aid efforts for the latter.
