The Manufacturers Association
Creating Student, Parent,
& Educator Interest in
Manufacturing
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Welcome to
iEXPLOREMANUFACTURINGCAREERS.COM
On July 1, 2012
The iEXPLORE Alliance of
Manufacturers launched this website
with goal of promoting manufacturing
careers and developing an awareness
of skills and training requirements that
will meet manufacturing needs of today
and the future.
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Why A WEBSITE?
Workforce Challenges
Significant shortages in key high-paying skilled
occupations, such as machinists, operators, craft
workers, technicians, certified welders, and
maintenance technicians could hold back future
manufacturing industry growth.
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Why II?
FROM…January 2010 “Workforce Challenges Report”…
 ….“compared to scale of annual openings,
number of individuals that could be
identified as completing education and
training courses that qualify workers for
employment in precision machining
occupations is tiny…
 ….on the order of five percent of annual
openings.
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WHY III?
FROM: Georgetown University 2011 Report
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
10% growth projected for total number of jobs
in U.S.A. between 2008 and 2018 [from 148
million to 162 million]

17% growth projected for *STEM jobs making
STEM one of the most dynamic occupation
clusters in the economy.
*STEM: Science Technology Engineering & Math
WHY IIII?
Manufacturers responses to
Manufacturing Institute” 2011 Survey

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74% reported “workforce shortages or skills
deficiencies in skilled production roles are
having a significant impact on their ability to
expand operations or improve productivity”.
67% reported a moderate to severe shortage of
available, qualified workers
56% anticipate the shortage to grow worse in
the next three to five years.
5% of current jobs at respondent
manufacturers were unfilled due to a lack of
qualified candidates.
How Did This Initiative Get Started?
The Manufacturers Association initiated this effort in
mid-2011 through a collaboration with concerned
manufacturers in south central Pennsylvania.
This alliance of Manufacturers is committed to developing
a collaborative environment with parents and educators to
achieve our mutual goals of creating awareness, interest,
and ultimately increased numbers of well qualified
students who will pursue manufacturing careers.
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What is the objective?
Manufacturers will continue to offer internships, summer
employment opportunities, STEM career days, plant
tours, presentations to students in the classrooms, but
that has produced only limited anecdotal successes.
Our objective with iEXPLORE website is to have a
statistical impact on number of students who will explore
and pursue manufacturing opportunities through an
increased awareness of the many rewarding and wellpaying careers available in manufacturing.
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What’s In It for Educators?
The iEXPLORE website supports PA State Board of
Education’s “Academic Standards for Career
Education and Work”
These standards require school entities to develop,
expand, or improve existing academic standards in
understanding career options in relationship to individual
interests, aptitudes, and skills including the relationship
between changes in society, technology, government and
economy and their effect on individuals and careers.
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What’s In It for Parents & Students?
The iEXPLORE website is a resource to provide
supplemental materials and information for
courses taught in schools, providing ongoing
support to students in researching career paths
and occupations in manufacturing…
The iEXPLORE website will eventually be
populated with even more videos, along with
added interactive activities to attract and retain
students' interest.
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Source: U.S. Congress
Joint Economic Committee Report
Perceptions Are Not Reality
1st Perception: Manufacturing is Stagnant
REALITY:
 Manufacturing accounts for about one-
eighth of the overall U.S. economy
 Manufacturing Produces:




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12 percent of U.S. GDP
70 percent of R & D in U.S.
90 percent of U.S.patents
$1.48 of additional economic activity for
every $1.00 in manufactured goods
Perceptions Are Not Reality II
2nd Perception: MFR’G Job Opportunities are Declining
REALITY:




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
Manufacturing gained 530,000 jobs from February 2010
to April 2013
And, by one estimate, there are 600,000 openings for
manufacturing jobs requiring advance skills
Manufacturing jobs are growing again, but companies
now face the challenge of finding enough skilled
workers to fill them
There many, many former manufacturing workers out
there but employers are saying it's hard to find people
to fill jobs
It really is a skills mismatch
Perceptions Are Not Reality III
3rd Perception: MFR’G requires a lot of physical labor
REALITY:
Manufacturing Facilities Have Changed
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Advances in technology have changed the way
goods are produced.
Hydraulic lifts, material handling equipment, and
even robots handle most heavy lifting.
Many manufacturing jobs now require highly
specialized technical skills and little physical labor
Physical strength is no longer an essential job
requirement, mental acuity is; and both sexes have
that skill.
More Perceptions…. According to
Manufacturing Institute’s 2012 Survey “U.S. Public
Opinions on Manufacturing”
Even though 64% of Americans believe U.S.
manufacturing can compete effectively in global
marketplace.

80% believe manufacturing jobs are the first to be moved
to other countries.
 46% see manufacturing sector as getting weaker
 43% believe a manufacturing career is as secure and
stable as a career in other industries
And, in a recent survey of 600 women by the National Women’s
Law Center 70% would encourage their sons to pursue a
manufacturing career; however, just 55 percent would do so for
their daughters.
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More…Manufacturing Institute 2012 Survey
U.S. Public Opinions on Manufacturing
Percentage of Student Respondents Who
Strongly Agree or Agree With Each Statement
17%
20%
43%
49%
49%
Stated that parents encouraged them to pursue a career in
manufacturing”
Believe the school system in their community provides
exposure to skills required to pursue careers in
manufacturing
Believe a manufacturing career is as secure and stable as
a career in other industries
Believe students today are qualified to work in the U.S.
manufacturing industry
Believe the school system in their community encourages
students to pursue careers in manufacturing
(e.g. science,technology, engineering, and math)
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56%
Believe manufacturing jobs are clean and safe
Manufacturing Institute 2012 Survey
U.S. Public Opinions on Manufacturing
Manufacturing
A Viable Career Choice?
Comparing survey results from previous year reveals little change
in which industries Americans choose to begin their careers.
Industry
Rank
Technology industry
Energy industry
Healthcare industry
Communications industry
Manufacturing industry
Financial services industry
1
2
3
4
5
6
Most encouraging is 18 to 24 year olds’ response to manufacturing
careers as “being both interesting and rewarding” jumped 14%
from 39% in 2011 to 53% in 2012.
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Manufacturing
Continues to Play Vital
Role in Local Economy
Manufacturing employment In U.S.
 Peaked at 19.6 million jobs in 1979
[21.7% employed in manufacturing]
 Bottomed out at 11.5 million jobs in 2010
[9% employed in manufacturing]
 Supports jobs in other industries with employment
multiplier higher than other sectors such as retail
trade or business services with each manufacturing
job supporting 2.9 jobs in other industries.
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Population 12,702,379
Pennsylvania (Statewide)
# Employed in Manufacturing
in PA
% Employed in
Manufacturing in PA
760,154
12.8%
South Central PA Counties # Employed in Manufacturing
in County
Lancaster
44,241
17.5%
York
39,843
18.4%
Cumberland
9,920
8.4%
Berks
36,254
18.5%
Dauphin
12,412
9.3%
Franklin
10,957
15.7%
Lebanon
10,851
17.1%
Adams
9,607
18.6%
Mifflin
4,438
23.0%
Juniata
2,250
19.9%
Perry
1,977
8.7%
Fulton
1,284
19.4%
184,034
24.2%
Nine County Total
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% Employed in
Manufacturing in
County
% of Ttl Mfg Jobs
in PA
South Central PA
AGING WORKFORCE
2010 Census
By Age Groups York County
28,187
5 to 9 years
28,902
10 to 14 years
29,507
15 to 19 years
Total
86,596
Adams
6,096
6,512
7,507
20,115
Dauphin
16,541
17,255
18,191
51,987
Lebanon
8,414
8,572
8,731
25,717
Lancaster
35,446
35,553
38,100
109,099
Pennsylvania
Statewide
Total
753,635
791,151
905,066
2,449,852
50 to 54 years
55 to 59 years
60 to 64 years
Total
34,134
30,031
25,742
89,907
7,800
7,208
6,313
21,321
21,260
19,346
16,022
56,628
9,798
9,220
8,148
27,166
37,680
33,534
28,458
99,672
984,641
879,048
743,296
2,606,985
(Under) Over
-3,311
-1,206
-4,641
-1,449
9,427
-157,133
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iEXPLORE PATH FORWARD….
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The manufacturing community will continue to play an
important role as a liaison to schools and providing a
range of support services, serving as a valuable source
for information on careers and occupations within a wide
variety of industry segments.
We are able to drawn from actual experiences of our
sponsoring companies who serve as expert content
resources for this project.
Future iEXPLORE web pages will expand career
opportunity profiles along with sponsoring companies’
and their employees’ success stories.
The Manufacturers Association
160 Roosevelt Ave
York, PA 17401
717-843-3891
Serving The Interests of Business Since 1906
http://www.mascpa.org/
http://www.iexploremanufacturingcareers.com/
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