Gen Z and metal fabrication: a perfect match

Generation Z might be open to a lot of the things that the fabrication community has to offer.

As I was chatting with a metal fabricator about the number of engineers it has on staff, I asked if it were hard to find engineering talent that wanted to work in the world of metal fabricating.

The question was timely, as he proceeded to share the tale of a young engineer that gave the company a call out of the blue. She had been working for a consultancy, preparing reports and advising clients, but she was looking for something more.

“She knew that we built things, and she liked the idea of doing that,” he said.

A few weeks later, she was doing what most fabricators like to do: trying to figure out how to make 3D models a metal reality.

The very nature of metal fabricating is one of the reasons that people like the industry so much. New jobs call for critical thinking about how they will be fabricated and processed through the plant. Scheduling hot jobs while trying to balance current commitments requires constant communication between the front office and the shop floor. Continuous improvement efforts get everyone involved in eliminating waste. No two days are alike.

If this reality has been overlooked by millennials, Generation Z may be more open to it. These are the kids who were born in 1997 and later, and they currently represent 20 percent of the population. They also represent a bright future for manufacturers if they are able to tap into this demographic. Let’s look at the reasons:

Gen Z grew up with portable computing power

The iPhone launched in 2007, when the oldest of this generation were 10. By the time they were in their teens, they were thoroughly comfortable using mobile devices to access information and entertainment. They are constantly connected and expect that connectivity everywhere. Millennials adapted to technology as it evolved; Gen Zers are the true digital natives.

That’s great news for metal fabricators that have added modern machine tools and software tools in recent years as they searched for efficiencies. Gen Z employees are going to gravitate to tablets and monitors, eschewing paper forms and drawings. They likely look at a paperless work environment as being the only true type of work environment.

They’ll also adapt more quickly to Industry 4.0 technologies. They have spent a majority of their young lives with the means to access a universe of information, so they won’t be intimidated by sifting through the real-time information made available from a shop’s operational systems and networked machine tools. They might need guidance in determining what key metrics are important, but they’ll have no problem figuring out how to pull together the dashboard in the shop management software.

Gen Z is inclusive

They have grown up in a multicultural world. People of different races and nationalities are more representative in the media they consume and in the world around them.

That can be particularly helpful in shops where English is only one language that is regularly spoken. In the Chicago area, for example, it’s not uncommon to walk onto shop floors and hear mostly Spanish or Polish. Gen Zers view it more as a chance to experience something new than something to be intimidated by.

Additionally, today’s shop floor is probably home to many other generations, including baby boomers, who are postponing retirement for a variety of reasons. It takes a certain skill to find a role and contribute positively in a workforce marked by longtime employees, but Gen Zers appear to have the skills to do just that.

Gen Z is not afraid to engage

In a November 2018 article on Gen Z (“'True Gen': Generation Z and its implications for companies”) from McKinsey & Co., the authors wrote that people of this generation “believe profoundly in the efficacy of dialogue to solve conflicts.” They believe that words have power.

That may be a bit profound for a small manufacturing company, but having employees willing to participate in solving problems has got to be a welcomed trait. Gen Z has spent a large amount of time in school working in groups for both in-class assignments and after-school projects, a direct result of the business world asking schools to force more collaboration among students. They are emerging as young adults ready to prosper in a modern manufacturing environment, where soft skills are almost as important as technical know-how.

I apologize if it appears I’m going a bit overboard in extolling the virtues of today’s young people. My daughter graduated from high school on May 25. She joins her brother now as they both work to achieve success in their adult lives. They may not change the world, but you wouldn’t mind working with them to try to make it a little bit better. I’m confident their peers demonstrate similar traits.