Parents may be the most significant influential factor in student career decision-making.  It is important that parents help students discover their passions, recognize their skills, and make the most of their education.   But that may not be enough.  In an era where educational costs are soaring, and more and more job-seekers are competing for openings, parents also must understand the job market, insuring that their children are making career choices wisely.

Would you encourage your child to go into a manufacturing field?  “According to a recent national survey commissioned by Kronos Incorporated, while 58 percent of parents want their child to be knowledgeable about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) subjects and 43 percent agree STEM-focused careers have a promising future, only 20 percent of parents associate STEM education with the manufacturing industry.”1. The rest of those findings can be found at https://workforceinstitute.org/encourage-child-manufacturing-career/.

The survey also highlighted the fact that many parents are not aware of the opportunities that exist for students at all levels, entry-professional, in the manufacturing industry.   According to the Deloitte and the “Manufacturing Institute Skills Gap and Future of Work Study,” in August of 2018 there were over 508,000 job openings in the manufacturing sector, with many of those employers unable to fill the high-skilled, high-wage positions.   You can read more about the significant skills gap that exists in manufacturing by downloading the full study.  http://www.themanufacturinginstitute.org/~/media/E323C4D8F75A470E8C96D7A07F0A14FB/DI_2018_Deloitte_MFI_skills_gap_FoW_study.pdf.  

Take a minute to visit this amazing website entitled  “Creators Wanted!   Why Manufacturing.” Read the introduction!  It is short and is followed by a series of Questions and Answers that can really pull the information included in the two previous studies together.  

https://www.creatorswanted.org/why-manufacturing/

The last question on that page is the most important:  “How can my kids and I learn more about modern manufacturing?”  The website provides a simple, engaging set of videos, entitled “Creator’s Wanted.”  There you will find 34 short, engaging videos about career opportunities in a variety of manufacturing fields!