Want to help manufacturing? Open the door to your fab shop

The FABRICATOR conducts a survey every two years that asks subscribers to rank the concerns that cause them to lose sleep. In this “What Keeps You up at Night?” survey, fabricators indicated that they were most concerned about the availability of skilled workers. Actually, that’s been the case since the magazine began doing the survey in 2009.

Fabricators who share this concern will have the opportunity to learn what workforce development professionals and industry leaders are doing to encourage younger people to consider a career in manufacturing. These experts will be involved at a FABTECH 2017 panel session at 1:30 p.m., Nov. 8. Panel members will include Brad Beckner, Chicago territory vice president, Kelly Services; Mike Cattelino, apprenticeship manager, Fox Valley Technical College, Appleton, Wis.; Laura Elsner, workforce development manager, DeWys Mfg., Marne, Mich.; and Warren Long, commodity manager, Briggs & Stratton Products Group, Wauwatosa, Wis.

The FABRICATOR spoke with Elsner to find out what the metal fabricator is doing to not only raise the profile of metal fabricating careers in western Michigan, but also promote DeWys Mfg. to those that may not be familiar with metal manufacturing.

The FABRICATOR: What have been some of the most important steps that DeWys Mfg. has taken to reach out to young people and hopefully find potential employees who are the right fit for the company?

Laura Elsner: Probably the biggest thing that we’ve done here is start DeWys University, which has been a huge help in allowing the company to develop employees’ technical skills. It also has really helped them to understand our processes and procedures.

Another big thing that has helped DeWys is that we have gotten involved with school and community activities. I almost see us as being activists of sorts in the manufacturing field. Company CEO Jon DeWys and I are involved in many different schools. I chair Manufacturing Day activities, and I’m involved with Career Quest, where we get students into our facility for a day to be exposed to a lot of hands-on, manufacturing-related activities.

A lot of that has been a huge help in connecting with young people. Half of our problem is just getting students, parents, and teachers to understand what is it we really do and what DeWys Mfg. is, for that matter.

Also, these efforts help to promote what’s happening inside manufacturing and dispel misconceptions about manufacturing. I really think the activities that we are involved in have been a huge piece of our growth and getting people to know who we are and getting them in our doors. And hopefully this pays off down the road. Hopefully when some of the kids I’ve visited in schools are making career decisions down the road, they’ll make a choice to come into manufacturing.

FAB: Do you agree that you really need to reach these young people before they get to high school, maybe in middle school or even elementary school?

Elsner: Yeah, I would absolutely agree.

I don’t think I realized that in the beginning. But having been involved in the schools, that really is the case. The high schools are great, and I think there is a lot of benefit for us in reaching out to those students. But now with the STEM program that we have in our facility and our push to get into the junior high schools, we really are starting to get them interested in engineering and manufacturing early. That’s where you start to see them light up and make that connection.

We had a couple of junior high groups here for Manufacturing Day. It’s harder to wrangle them, and I think that’s why a lot of manufacturers shy away from reaching out to kids that age. But when you make some connections with those kids, that’s where you really start moving the needle.

FAB: Do you think these efforts are making a difference for manufacturing in general?

Elsner: Yes. I think it is of the utmost importance. Do I necessarily see everyone that I connect with come back here and work for us? No.

My goal is that they see all the options, whether they go into college and get into manufacturing or go directly into manufacturing. In working with these schools, I’m starting to see them consider a manufacturing career. They are starting to come in and work for us right away, and I’ve had some that go through college and then start working for us afterward.

I think it’s a slow process. We are a world in search of instantaneous gratification. So when we don’t see them go to work in manufacturing, we give up.

You have to look at this for the long term. My scope is a lot bigger than what a lot of people might have. I see students coming back. I’m seeing them in college and saying that they remember our company. That’s telling me that I’m making some headway. It’s a slow -moving process.

FAB: What makes the biggest impact in getting students to consider a career in manufacturing?

Elsner: You need to be in front of them. That could be in the classroom, getting them to the facility on Manufacturing Day, or going to another place where they can get hands-on experience, like at an event such as Career Quest. Those probably make the biggest impact. These kids can’t just hear about it. They need to see it, touch it, and smell it.

Social media is also huge. We have Instagram. And it makes some headway, believe it or not.

But definitely the ability to show them is where you make the biggest difference.

FAB: What advice do you have for other manufacturers looking to raise the image of manufacturing while also promoting their own company to younger people?

Elsner: I always tell people to start small. A lot of people look at what we are doing here, look at all the schools we work with, and say, “Oh my God! I can’t do that.” Nobody needs to do all of this.

I’m fortunate that DeWys Mfg. is very supportive of all of our activities. But you can start small. Manufacturing Day is a very good opportunity. Open your doors for a couple of hours. Give students tours. Give them some hands-on activities. Be a mentor. Go into the classrooms and take some of your people along with you. Those are very smalls steps that make a huge impact.

As you meet people in the community and work with the schools, or even other employers, it’s amazing the connections you make. Then you are able to do a little bit more. It really feels second nature after a while.

Don’t try to reach for the stars today. Go slow into this, and you ‘ll make a difference. You’ll see that you can do this.