A manufacturer’s observations on recruiting, retaining millennials, Gen Z

Attracting young workers to manufacturing takes some tailor-made strategies. Getty Images

If you gave me a dollar for every time I heard the word millennial at a manufacturing conference, I could retire. Conversely, if I had a dollar for every time I saw a millennial sitting in the room during the discussion, I still couldn’t buy groceries this week. The manufacturing community has done an excellent job of adding ‘generational transitioning’ to our agenda topics, supporting community initiatives to promote manufacturing to schools, and implementing strategies to pull these new generations into our industry, yet most manufacturers tell me they still face high hurdles to scoop up a significant portion of this demographic.

The good news is that the pandemic has prompted many in the millennial cohort and Generation Z to rethink their career paths and formal education beyond high school. Forbes ran an article in its October 2020 issue on this topic, reporting that college enrollment overall had dropped by 4% over the previous year. The drop at nonprofit institutions was actually higher because the 4% included an increase in enrollment at for-profit colleges. Of the 4% decline, freshman enrollment saw the largest drop; it decreased 13.7% at public universities and 11.8% at private nonprofits. There were many drivers that prompted the change, such as health concerns, virtual learning platforms, and semester schedule uncertainty. Regardless of motivation, the decisions were made, and now some of these individuals are considering alternative options. The question is how do we get them into manufacturing? I don’t claim to be an expert in this area, but I do have a personal experience and some lessons learned to share.

A Case Study in Motion

Meet Seth. Seth was a sophomore in college at the University of Iowa. One day in the fall of 2020 he went to his parents’ house and told them he had decided to quit school. No warning, no discussion, no nothing—he had already dropped his courses. Lucky for my husband and me, we know Seth’s parents, and when they were telling us about this development, the wheels in our brains started turning. Seth had worked for us over several summers during his high school years, so we knew a few things about him. He’s a hard worker, he’ll tackle any task, and he always has a positive attitude. Oh yeah, he also was a four-sport state qualifier, so he’s disciplined and has plenty of muscle power. When you are the starting quarterback of a football team that places fourth in the state, your brain is conditioned to solve problems, react quickly, and handle pressure. With Seth’s parents’ permission, we approached him about working for us while he sorted out the next steps, and he accepted.

Fast-forward a few months. What started out as a couple months to fill his time and wallet has now developed into an internship. One thing we learned is that Seth was a little overwhelmed at having to figure out his life plan at the age of 20. Can you blame him? So, we took it a few months at a time.

First, we asked if he would help us from October to the end of the year. Then we started discussing his spring plans. My husband is a community college graduate, so he encouraged Seth to take some classes and said our business would cover half the cost under a tuition reimbursement agreement. Near the end of the spring semester we initiated a discussion about a full-time work schedule for the summer.

Lessons Learned

We have learned a lot about Gen Z from Seth, and about what we need to do to recruit and retain these team members.

For one thing, they like to mix it up. They don’t want to do the same task every day over many years. We created an internship that allows Seth to rotate through our business, learning skills in operations, administration, and management. Yes, I said management. Seth now has a part-time high school senior reporting to him who is starting a trade program next fall.

They also are fluent in social media and digital communication. Is this a big deal in manufacturing? Absolutely. Every business, and I mean every business, that wants to grow will need to develop a strategy around social media and digital communication, and the sooner, the better. They should actually be working on it right now, and Gen Z is the perfect generation to lead this effort. Seth is running all of our social media platforms and website strategy. We have an Instagram account and don’t even know the password.

Stayed tuned for updates and more columns on this topic, which I find quite exciting. We are just beginning to understand all the value Seth and his generation bring to the workforce. In my initial assessment, I’d call it a touchdown.