How Manufacturers Can Engage Youth in Their Communities

As a manufacturer, engaging local young people isn't just about filling future job openings. It's a strategic investment. By connecting with young minds, you can cultivate a vibrant workforce, strengthen their community, and enhance your brand. You are helping young people gain valuable skills like problem-solving, teamwork, and critical thinking. And your company benefits in many ways, such as improving your workplace culture by learning how to work with multiple generations.

However, the path to meaningful youth engagement isn't always smooth. Time constraints, urgent hiring needs, and uncertainty about the return on investment can deter you and other manufacturers from committing to long-term initiatives. Establishing clear pathways for student involvement, such as internships, apprenticeships, and mentorship programs, can also be challenging.

The good news? Successful programs often thrive through collaboration. By partnering with schools, community organizations, and technical programs, you can share the burden and maximize your impact. Once you and other manufacturers demonstrate a commitment to youth development, new opportunities and partnerships will naturally emerge.

How the Project Manufacturing Talent Stream Works

Here at the Northwest Industrial Research Center (NWIRC), one of seven offices comprising the Pennsylvania Manufacturing Extension Partnership (PA MEP), which is part of the MEP National Network™, we’ve been working on workforce development programs with Pennsylvania manufacturers since 1988. In 2023, we received a grant from the PA Department of Community and Economic Development to better connect manufacturers with students, educators, and parents in their local community. The initiative involved implementing a number of new opportunities and leveraging existing community programs.

In this article, we will look at some of the details of this initiative, the Project Manufacturing Talent Stream, which has two primary goals:

● Help young people explore opportunities in manufacturing through hands-on experiences and career conversations.

● Help busy manufacturing companies navigate opportunities and connections in order to effectively develop relationships.

In order to review a manufacturer’s historic activity with students and identify initiatives to pursue, we developed a no cost Talent Stream Assessment. This questionnaire, in combination with a plant tour, launches a manufacturer's participation in the Project Talent Stream.

Initiatives for engaging youth can involve creating your own programming or tapping into existing programs. Each requires effort and resources, and the opportunities will vary depending on local resources.

Create Your Own Youth Engagement Programs

Creating community engagement programs is a lot of work, but you can also leverage your network, and your employees’ networks, to align with other stakeholders. Here are some approaches to consider.

Volunteer Program Engages Young Employees, Educators, Students, and Parents

We implemented a Dream Team of local manufacturing talent to share their excitement about careers in manufacturing and the different paths to get there. Local manufacturers supply young staff members who are willing to speak with students about their career journey. They also speak with teachers who might also be advisors for STEM clubs or other extracurricular activities, and with parents involved in youth activities.

Considering creating your own Dream Team? In terms of selecting an employee, be sure to select someone with a story to tell, not just engineers or recruiters. This could be a 23-year-old you hired and have promoted and now has a clear career path.

The Dream Team engages in the community by:

● Speaking on career panels at schools and other organizations.

● Participating in career fairs and community events.

● Providing tours geared around career paths at manufacturing facilities.

In Northwest Pennsylvania, we also coordinate a Passport to Manufacturing program for grades 4-8. Students and parents tour three plants on a Saturday morning, get a passport stamped at each, and finish with a lunch and prizes. The students fill out a survey for the benefit of guidance counselors.

Manufacturing Academy for 11th and 12th Graders

High school guidance counselors are looking for ways to connect their students with potential careers, so do not be shy about leveraging them. Our local chapter of the National Tooling & Machining Association created and invited us to participate in a more formal program that works like this:

● The guidance counselor brings a group of 4-5 students. Ideally, the students are not science stars or vocational students but are into gaming, creating, and software.

● The group spends the morning at one manufacturer, doing hands-on activities and tours and hearing about careers. After lunch, they visit a second manufacturer.

Other Possibilities Include Family Day, Job Shadowing, and Competitions

Manufacturers may also engage in less formal activities that require fewer resources. These types of engagements include:

● Hosting events: Consider hosting a tour and career exploration event during Manufacturing Month for your employee families or even families from the community.

● Job shadowing: Allowing someone with an interest in manufacturing to shadow an employee for part of a day can be a great way to dispel misconceptions and motivate young people to pursue a career in manufacturing.

● Competitions: School- and company-sponsored competitions can include preparation for an on-the-spot or pre-determined challenge. These may require someone from your company to be an expert or coach during some or all of the program.

Also keep in mind the opportunity to partner with summer day camps, which are often looking for programming or field trips.

Tap Into Existing Youth Engagement Programs

Your local school district, vocational education and community-based organizations may have programs you can join. Here are some examples.

Student-Run Manufacturing Enterprises (SRME)

SRME is a proven, career readiness model with a nationwide footprint. Students run a business, which includes production, sales training, and marketing, and they learn how to do real work on CNC machines or other equipment. Local manufacturers are the clients, paying for the parts or components that the students produce.

The SRME program model can be run within any high school with the space for the machinery and a willingness to hire teachers who can offer the curriculum and/or build parts for industry. A playbook for supporting and starting a Student-Run Manufacturing Enterprise in your region is available.

Tooling U and the SME Certified Manufacturing Cohorts

The Certified Manufacturing Associate (CMfgA) online curriculum is an industry-driven certification that prepares job seekers with the basic knowledge of manufacturing to make them an ideal candidate for entry-level manufacturing employment. Your local MEP Center can help you set up a Tooling U certification that can help your recruitment and onboarding.

A cohort utilizing the nationally accredited Tooling U CMfgA certification can be formed for: high school students needing an alternative path to graduation, out of school youth, dislocated workers, veterans, and underemployed individuals coming from other non-manufacturing sectors. The students complete the self-paced online courses at home and come together periodically to tour manufacturing plants and receive professional skills development, including resume writing, interview tips, and financial literacy training.

Other Possibilities Include Uniquely Abled Populations and Vocational Resources

Community-based organizations can be great partners for small manufacturers in their recruitment efforts. They often provide job training support, and they can provide insights into their populations to help find the right fit. For example, people who are on the autism spectrum excel at focused, detail-oriented work and often have outstanding technical skills. The Office of Vocational Resources and local workforce boards often have career training paths for ages 14-24 for justice-involved youth, foster kids, families with abuse, and people in independent living. More information regarding the Uniquely Abled Project and Uniquely Abled Academy can be found at uniquelyabledproject.org.

Your Local MEP Center Can Help With a Youth Engagement Strategy

Community outreach and engaging with students in structured environments involves investing time in building relationships and networking to find the right and willing partners. However, by implementing these initiatives, manufacturers can secure a steady stream of skilled workers, enhance their brand reputation, and contribute to the economic vitality of their region.

Your local MEP Center can help you with a youth engagement strategy. They may be able to help you assess your historical activity with students and identify initiatives you’d like to pursue. Contact your local MEP Center to get started.

About the Author

Tara Lawrence

Manufacturing Talent Stream Coordinator, NWIRC

Tara leads the initiatives designed to connect manufacturers to the regional talent stream through NWIRC, one of seven Centers comprising the PA MEP, part of the MEP National Network.