A unanimous concern from my interviewees was that today’s youth tend to know little about manufacturing. Although the interviewees contributed to the workforce development in various ways, they seemed to agree that increasing youth exposure to manufacturing was a priority on the nation-wide workforce development agenda.
Although American schools recognize the importance of robust STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) education, not many K-12 curricula emphasize manufacturing as an application of STEM.
The lack of manufacturing-related course offerings in American schools (with adequate resources) is a result of widespread, outdated conceptions about manufacturing occupations shared amongst the public. People still associate manufacturing with the assembly lines and musty facilities of the 19th-century Industrial Revolution. Many high-school-age students believe manufacturing is not cool or glamorous enough to make a fulfilling career. People like to see how their work contributes to a grander effort, and they incorrectly perceive occupations in manufacturing to be isolated and repetitive.
Although American schools recognize the importance of robust STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) education, not many K-12 curricula emphasize manufacturing as an application of STEM.
In any region of the United States, youths are often only aware of the career pathways within their communities or communities like their own. Having no exposure to the field in school, students do not realize that manufacturing is a career option.
Some youths are deterred by the fact that many manufacturing jobs only require trade school certifications. Many Americans in economically privileged regions carry the mindset that four-year college degrees are the “golden ticket” to securing steady, well-paying jobs. Based on the educational pre-requisites of many manufacturing jobs, they do not think those jobs guarantee financial stability. They fail to realize that there are many higher-level jobs in the sector that do require advanced degrees and pay very well.
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