Manufacturers must step in and drive the change that they need

Manufacturers must step in and drive the change that they need

Steve Dyer
President & CEO, Dickten Masch Plastics, LLC

I’ve been in manufacturing my whole life, and it’s been an exciting and rewarding career. It’s enormously satisfying to work with the driven, creative and resourceful people I’ve come to know in manufacturing, and it’s also exciting to be a part of creating the things that make people’s lives better, safer and more fulfilling.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of 30-somethings and younger aren’t even aware that they could be living a life that offers great personal satisfaction as well as a fair pay, great benefits and a solid career path. A career in manufacturing is bypassed because of a very common misconception – that manufacturing is dirty, hard, repetitive and dead-end.  It’s a misconception passed down from their parents who encourage other career paths – career paths that have become much scarcer since the beginning of the great recession.

This is why we’re seeing the paradox of high unemployment while many manufacturing jobs remain unfilled.   The manufacturing sector is leading the way to recovery, but its continued rapid growth is hindered by the lack of skilled employees, and in many cases, employees with even basic skills.  

This is a pressing issue for our country, and there is no single solution that will resolve the problem.  However, let’s not philosophize, let’s get specific:  First, manufacturers must step in and drive the change that they need to grow.  This means putting your money where your mouth is.  It is no longer acceptable to sit back and lament the lack of qualified applicants, to complain about the loss of the American work ethic, to fuss about the uncertainly in local, state, and federal government policies – stop playing the victim.  

At Dickten Masch Plastics we partnered with the local Business Alliance to form a manufacturing alliance. This alliance brings together manufacturing leaders throughout our community to develop and deploy strategies to promote manufacturing as a viable career path.  For example, we have now facilitated tours for over 300 local educators and guidance counselors into our manufacturing facilities to show them first-hand the bright, clean, exciting, fast-paced world that we live in everyday.  We have partnered with Second Chance Partners for Education to give students that are not excelling in a traditional curriculum a path to complete their degree and earn valuable real-world job experience. We have sponsored 6 scholarships so that local students interested in learning about the plastics industry can have access to an incredible bank of knowledge in the Society for Plastics Engineers.  We participate in local, state, and federal politics to ensure the voice of manufacturing is being heard by our elected officials.    

Another thing manufacturers must consider to attract young people is to continually drive improvements in the work environment and find creative ways to allow people to balance work and life.  I always get up at 5:30 am and get started on my day, but most young people don’t do that.  They like to start later and they expect flexibility in the schedule. They communicate differently and they’re totally tied into technology through social media. Frankly, most manufacturers have been left behind when it comes to leveraging communication applications for their business, let alone using it to find potential employees and help retain the younger generation.  Doing small things like starting later (if there is no business need to start early), incorporating technology into the business model – even using employees to market though social media – can really help get and keep young people interested.

I’m not the only person to have a different view of work than many Gen Xers – generational issues at work is a well-known problem.  People that started their careers 20, 30 and even 40 years ago don’t immediately mesh with younger people who have different attitudes about work, appearance and communication.  But I’ve found that setting up a mentoring program benefits everyone.  People have the chance to get to know each other, finding common ground and sharing knowledge and life experience. I’ve seen how mentoring revitalizes experienced workers, giving them the opportunity to contribute to improving another person’s career – and more importantly, their life.

Manufacturing is facing some serious challenges in the next decade in finding and developing the workforce that will drive the innovation and change crucial to the resurgence of the industrial sector. Manufacturers must look up from our traditional focus on “getting the job done” – and get out into our communities and schools and talk about the tremendous benefits our way of life offers – financially and personally.