Packagers deprived of talent by misunderstanding of manfuacturing

If you ask the average parent, guidance counselor or high school student what manufacturing is all about, you will probably get a description of a steel mill, auto factory, refinery or machine shop. You may also hear that manufacturing is no longer viable in the United States and that manufacturing jobs are hot, dirty, mindless and vanishing. Our general perception of manufacturing is a narrow and outdated one. I call this little-m manufacturing.

Big-M Manufacturing holds much more promise. Jobs in big-M Manufacturing are clean, safe, comfortable, secure, and high-tech. Many of these jobs have been labeled "Gold-Collar" jobs since they are high paying and in high demand. Big-M jobs include those in food processing, beverages, pharmaceuticals, bio-technology, medical devices, and a myriad of other consumer packaged goods manufacturing areas.

Unless your kids are watching programs like Snack Food Tech on The History Channel, chances are good that they have no idea about the great jobs in potato chip plants, bakeries, confectionery plants, egg processing plants, ice-cream plants, etc. They don't know how robotics, computers, software, video graphics, modeling, simulation and motion control are applied to process and package these products.

Someone pointed out recently that there are high-tech manufacturing plants across the country. These plants are often set 300 yards back from the road and surrounded by a beautifully landscaped dike and security fence. These factories have few windows and no one but employees are allowed through the doors. There are no tours and few people know what goes on inside. Contrast this with the sprawling steel mill or refinery that covers thousands of acres, provides school tours, periodically makes the six o'clock news and has a documentary film that kids see in school. Is it any wonder that we don't have an adequate understanding of Big-M Manufacturing?

A consortium of workforce development and education folks recently discussed this problem and tried to develop ideas to help students, teachers and guidance counselors become better informed about the opportunities in Manufacturing. Several significant Big-M companies were represented, but none offered to open their doors for tours, internships, or educational endeavors. Come-on folks! Have the lawyers taken over everything? Our kids and our society need to understand Big-M manufacturing. What are you going to do to help?

(PS: And while we're at it, let's make sure that our kids understand that Big-T Technology is more than just computers. Information technology is little-t technology. Think about it.)

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