Blessed are
those who have not seen
and yet have believed
(John 20:29)
At
last year’s Women in Manufacturing Summit, I learned about the “Dream It, Do It”
initiative. This is a program launched by The Manufacturing Institute that “offers
local manufacturers, schools, community-based organizations and other
stakeholders the opportunity to partner with a respected national platform to
promote manufacturing as a top tier career choice in the United States.” Recognizing
that every region is different, the DI-DI program advances a national
standardized brand that can be customized to fit the needs of the local
workforce. As a follow up, I was pleased to see that in August 2013, my home
state of Arkansas signed on as the 23rd member as an avenue to address
the growing skills shortage across our great state. To learn more about the
national Dream It, Do It initiative, please visit http://www.themanufacturinginstitute.org/Image/Dream-It-Do-It/Dream-It-Do-It.aspx
The
state of Connecticut has identified a need for more machinists, assemblers, and
CNC tool operators. To gain the attention of future of engineers and
innovators, and to leverage the state’s DI-DI program, October was deemed as “Manufacturing
Month” to introduce middle school aged students to future careers in
manufacturing. At featured events, students were given hands on opportunities
to experience additive manufacturing, cutting tools, and 3-D printers. Grace
Sawyer Jones, president of the local community college shared that one way to
increase awareness is by exposing students to potential careers as early as
possible. “It’s by having students who are looking to these fields long before
they come to college. And more importantly, the manufacturing businesses are
here (in CT). Those are the parts that you bring together early in their lives, so they
really have a realization of the possibilities.” To read more about the
Connecticut manufacturing event, please click on http://wnpr.org/post/manufacturing-event-targets-future-workforce-connecticut-made-products?goback=%2Egde_4239561_member_5800678290263916544#%21
As
an advocate for careers in manufacturing, I agree that we have to introduce the
next generation of workers to the possibilities of sustainable jobs as early as
possible. Many kids are not aware of the products that are machined or
assembled locally. More importantly, as adults, business owners, and community leaders, we should begin to challenge these young
innovators to consider the unseen good works, potential products that could be
assembled and manufactured in the future from local resources. We should not
limit our or their focus to the types of manufacturing that we see today,
instead testing their abilities to develop solutions without the benefit of
tangible proof from current technology. That’s what engineering and innovation
and the next generation of job creation in manufacturing is all about: believing in what we
have not seen and yet have believed to be possible. How are you engaging
young people in your community to Dream It, Do It, to ignite their purposed
work? Feel free to comment, or, send me an email at latanyua.robinson@gmail.com.
If you like this post and want to catch up on some of my previous discussions,
please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/.