The Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI) endorses Manufacturing Day, a national grassroots movement created to draw attention to the contributions of manufacturing to the national economy and celebrate the achievements of the 12 million men and women who work in the sector, set for October 5, 2012. The effort is co-produced by the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, International (FMA), the National Association of Manufacturers, the Manufacturing Institute, and the Department of Commerce’s Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP).
The goal of Manufacturing Day is to rally the manufacturing community to host open houses, public tours, career workshops, and other events to introduce as many people as possible to the new manufacturing reality: clean and lean facilities with highly skilled employees implementing advanced technologies and processes.
Studies by the nonprofit Manufacturing Institute and others show that almost 80 percent of Americans believe manufacturing is important to our economic prosperity, standard of living, and national security. Yet only 30 percent would encourage their children to go into manufacturing as a career. The hope is that by providing media, educators, parents, and kids with an inside look at the high-tech world of manufacturing that percentage will begin to grow. And that as other non-manufacturing citizens take a look inside the walls of modern manufacturing facilities they will realize these are desirable places to build careers and that U.S. manufacturing is definitely alive and well.
“Manufacturing is finally on the front burner of our nation’s agenda,” said Stephen Gold, MAPI President and CEO, “so this the perfect time to amplify the message and inform the public as to the enormous contributions manufacturing makes to society and its vital role in the U.S. economy. We applaud the sponsoring organizations and join with them in highlighting this new era for the industrial sector.”
To learn more about Manufacturing Day, log on to www.mfgday.com or call 888-394-4362.