Once upon a time, schools would run trips to factories, like Ford Motors, to show them the backbone industry America was built on. In 2015, do these school trips still happen? A lot has changed since then and it isn’t easy trying to get the millennial generation interested about what’s happening on American factory floors.
I remember visiting the Lowell Mills on school trips when I was young, but that is not what manufacturing is like today. People still have the idea that manufacturing jobs are no more than pulling levers on an assembly line. Today’s manufactures are looking for engineers, designers, machinists and computer programmers. They have moved towards computerized numerical control equipment and 3D robotic printers. Attracting millennials to manufacturing must begin with changing negative perceptions and promoting new technologies.
With the majority of the baby boomers coming closer to the age of retirement in the next decade, it becomes crucial for manufactures to start attracting the next generation of skilled workers. I’ll admit when I first started working at Visibility, I had trouble understanding what could be so interesting about the manufacturing industry when I didn’t know much about it. But then I learned more about what some of our customers’ made-to-order:
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Seismographs which have been used in tsunami warning systems and are now being used for oil exploration
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Fastpass technology that is used nationwide for toll collection
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Undersea robotics with submersibles which were used in the titanic exploration, during the repair of BP Gulf Oil spill and are used in oil recovery operations/exploration
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NASA space rocket components and wing tips for jets which create better aerodynamics and allow better fuel efficiency
It is inspiring to know about how manufactures have such big hand in the world’s everyday life. Growing up surrounded by computers, millennials became quite the tech savvy group who also value giving back to the community. Manufactures must promote how their technology gives back and why it’s so important to keep this industry growing within America.
To learn more about how Visibility serves its customers read about our customer success stories here.
