Manufacturing is Looking Good

Zara Brunner October 1, 2012

This is it: the final countdown to the first ever national Manufacturing Day on Friday.  And we’re getting the party started early.  In fact, manufacturers around the country have already started with plant tours in advance of October 5.  It’s so exciting and inspiring to see manufacturing get its own day.   So many people around the country have been busy putting together tours and events and countless others have helped spread the word in the news, on Twitter, Facebook, and through old-fashioned emails and personal contact.  We love it!
From coast to coast, there are hundreds of events to shine the spotlight on manufacturing day and show people that American manufacturing is looking good!  Those of us who support U.S. manufacturing in some capacity, recognize that every day is manufacturing day really.  But there’s misconception surrounding the industry and a lot of work to do to show the public what modern day manufacturing looks like and what the future state could look like.
That’s why this infographic was created.  It tells the real story of manufacturing and it’s a good one, but we have a challenge that we must address together in order to move into a better direction and forge a stronger future.  As the data and visuals show, manufacturing in America contributes to our economic and innovation success unlike any other industry.  Manufacturing also offers great high-paying, professional jobs, yet the public doesn’t view them that way and there aren’t enough skilled workers to fill more than 600,000 jobs right now.  That’s a big problem.
While a huge percentage of Americans say manufacturing is crucial for our economy and national defense and are afraid of more jobs going overseas, not enough parents are encouraging kids to go into manufacturing.  (Self-congratulatory plug/writer excluded: my kindergarten and third grade boys are hearing a lot from me about STEM education and additive manufacturing.)  A ridiculously small number of people consider manufacturing a top career option.   A powerful way to change these perceptions is to get people into manufacturing facilities to see what those jobs look like, how stuff gets made, and what type of training and skills people need to work in manufacturing.  Manufacturing Day to the rescue…
I hope you read this, share the infographic to help tell the real story, and consider attending a Manufacturing Day open house near you.  Encourage your community to attend and let them know they will see professionals who:

• make more than $77,000 a year on average (about $20k more than other industries)
• have good access to medical benefits (25% more access than other industries actually)
• collectively get more contributions to their retirement from their employers than their peers in the service industry, and
• have the highest job tenure in the private sector

I don’t know about you, but that looks good to me!