Welcome to iExplore Manufacturing Careers

We’ve created a website for students, parents and educators where you can find out all you need to know to make it big in an exciting manufacturing career.

Our website includes a series of videos along with links to articles and educational resources intended to help you find the career that will put you in control of the newest technology; look to you to meet the biggest challenges; and, put the best pay checks in the pockets of those who make it happen.

A career where you can really make it… BIG!

For questions and for more information, use the contact us link below!

Contact Us!

Why Are We Doing This

In January 2010, the Pennsylvania Center for Advanced Manufacturing Careers published its first report on the workforce challenges facing Pennsylvania’s advanced manufacturers. The report noted that, “Even when the recession was in full force, significant shortages in key high-paying skilled occupations, such as certified welders, machinists, and maintenance technicians” could hold back future industry growth. This same report expresses concern that “compared to the scale of annual openings, the number of individuals that can be identified as completing education and training courses that qualify workers for employment in precision machining occupations (these individuals are called “training completers”) is tiny; on the order of five percent of annual openings.

 “Help Wanted Online” tracks job listings online over time by occupation. In October 2012 the number of advertised vacancies outnumbered the unemployed looking for work in computer or math jobs by five-to-one.

How We Got Started

The Manufacturers Association initiated this effort in April 2011 through a collaboration with and support of manufacturers in south central Pennsylvania.  This alliance of Manufacturers is committed to developing a collaborative environment with parents and educators to achieve our mutual goals of creating awareness, interest, and ultimately increased numbers of well qualified students who will pursue manufacturing careers.  We started out by publishing videos and materials on a dedicated website in July 2012. www.iExploreManufacturingCareers.com goal is to have a statistical impact in promoting manufacturing related careers by developing an awareness of career skills and training requirements that will meet manufacturing needs of today and the future.

What Is Path Forward

The manufacturing community will continue to play an important role as a liaison to schools and providing a range of support services, serving as a valuable source for information on careers and occupations within a wide variety of industry segments. We are able to drawn from actual experiences of our sponsoring companies who serve as expert content resources for this project. Future iExplore web pages will expand career opportunity profiles along with sponsoring companies’ and their employees’ success stories.

Our goal is to design the iExplore website as an interactive database to support classroom instruction as well as facilitate independent student research on careers and occupations to be pursued in manufacturing. Our iExplore website vision is to ultimately provide a flexible curriculum platform which schools can customize to meet specific needs of their unique academic environments.

We Are At A Critical Stage

The manufacturing community will continue to play an important role as a liaison to schools and providing a range of support services, serving as a valuable source for information on careers and occupations within a wide variety of industry segments. We are able to drawn from actual experiences of our sponsoring companies who serve as expert content resources for this project. Future iExplore web pages will expand career opportunity profiles along with sponsoring companies’ and their employees’ success stories.

Our goal is to design the iExplore website as an interactive database to support classroom instruction as well as facilitate independent student research on careers and occupations to be pursued in manufacturing. Our iExplore website vision is to ultimately provide a flexible curriculum platform which schools can customize to meet specific needs of their unique academic environments.

What’s In It For Schools & Students?

The iExplore website supports *Academic Standards for Career Education and Work which require school entities to develop, expand or improve existing academic standards in understanding career options in relationship to individual interests, aptitudes and skills including the relationship between changes in society, technology, government and economy and their effect on individuals and careers.

*PA Code Title 22 | PA State Board of Education | Subpart A Chapter 4   http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/022/chapter4/chap4toc.html

The iExplore website is a resource to provide supplemental materials and information for courses taught in schools, providing ongoing support to students in researching career paths and occupations in manufacturing, and will eventually be populated with even more videos, along with added interactive activities to attract and retain students’ interest.