The importance of growing new talent for manufacturing

What 21st-century parent would encourage a son or daughter to pursue a career in manufacturing?

Enough of them in the DuPage area to reopen the high school Manufacturing Technology and Welding programs at Technology Center of DuPage for the fall of 2015.

When TCD opened in 1974, more than 20 percent of all U.S. employment was in manufacturing. No surprise, then, that TCD had a robust manufacturing program among its career and technical education electives for students in DuPage County and Lyons Township.

Fast forward to the turn of the century, with China and India pulling U.S. companies overseas. Then 2007 brought the start of the Great Recession. According to some pundits, American manufacturing was essentially dead. Due to low enrollment, TCD reluctantly deactivated its manufacturing program at the end of the 2009 school year.

Jay Hindersman (Wheaton North '09) was part of that last manufacturing class. He enrolled junior and senior year, taking advantage of all the benefits: eight hours of dual credit, an internship, MSSC certification (production technician) through College of DuPage, and a Rotary scholarship.

He graduated from high school with a full-time job in production at Accurate Carriers USA and a head start on college.

Now the director of quality for the company, Hindersman is concurrently completing a bachelor's degree in manufacturing and even considering a second major in engineering. Mindful of the woes of others from his generation, Hindersman gratefully acknowledges, "Because of my job, I have the means to do this without going into massive debt."

Hindersman's experience shows how this area's job market contradicted the negative headlines. Even after TCD's manufacturing program closed, companies called every year, looking for skilled employee candidates. Why the continuous demand?

Manufacturers cite a skills gap; with Boomers retiring, they are not finding enough young people who have the math skills and, even more troubling, the problem-solving and workplace skills critical for success in manufacturing.

The 2015 Skills Gap Report by TheManufacturingInstitute.org projects that retirements and expansion will add 3.5 million manufacturing jobs by 2025, but 2 million of them will go unfilled for lack of qualified candidates.

Then, more recently, rising wages in China and logistical issues are affecting the profitability of overseas production. Factor in America's consistently higher productivity and turnaround ability, then bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. makes economic sense.

First-year TCD manufacturing alum and business owner Jim Vassar (Fenton '75) proudly kept his production stateside all these years. He runs his company - Fidelity Tool and Mold - at a high-tech facility in Batavia and recently opened a second in Columbus, Ohio.

"We're growing," he said, "and looking for good, quality people." There's the rub.

Having avoided manufacturing as a career option, too many young Americans have little understanding of the industry or its role in the U.S. economy. The Manufacturing Institute asserts that high school manufacturing programs like TCD's are a vital first step in developing a new pipeline of highly skilled people this high-tech industry needs to remain innovative and competitive.

Vassar also advises parents and students to visit area manufacturers, saying:

"I've had people tour (my company) expecting a dimly lit, smoky, dingy facility where people are hammering things on anvils. When they left they were amazed at the high-tech automation, the type of salary range available, and the benefit packages."

Jay Hindersman adds: "I tell parents that manufacturing has the best of both worlds: both blue-collar and white-collar opportunities. I started on the production floor and now I am in a mostly white-collar position. However, my previous experiences help me understand production issues and talk knowledgeably about solutions."

The good news: the Bureau of Economic Analysis shows manufacturers' contribution to the economy has risen steadily since 2009, up 17 percent to $2.09 trillion, or 12.7 percent of our GDP (2014). Manufacturing supports one in six private sector jobs; in Illinois, it generates one of every three jobs.

Even better: eager to attract skilled candidates, manufacturers are paying the highest average salary and benefits ($77,000) of any other U.S. industry. (Source: Nat'l Assn. of Manufacturers).

So what 21st-century parents want to see their student pursue manufacturing? For starters, I do. Based on my experience visiting and talking with local manufacturers, I encouraged my 18-year-old son to consider Manufacturing Technology. As a first-year senior in his school district's career center, he is thriving and currently has two internships.

"It gives me that sense of pride knowing that I can make quality products for a large company like Ford or Urschel's and I'm only a high school student," he said.

And, yes, fellow parents, he is going to university in the fall, excited about majoring in advanced manufacturing.

• Jim Thorne is the Director of the DuPage Area Occupational Education System (DAOES), the governing body for Technology Center of DuPage and other CTE delivery sites in the region. See www.tcdupage.org for participating member school districts and more information about TCD's advanced CTE electives, including the new Manufacturing Technology and Welding programs.