(Ed. note: This is the first in a series aimed at helping manufacturers successfully manage today’s multi-generational workplace.)
Growing up around a family of mechanics, maybe it was predestined that Justice Ceasor would eye an automotives career of his own. But the senior at Richmond Heights High School, outside Cleveland, doesn’t envision himself fixing car parts. Instead, he wants to make them.
At just 17 years old, Ceasor has already figured out what so many young people over the last three decades have not. That is, that a career in manufacturing can be as engaging as it is rewarding. If manufacturers want to bridge the talent gap and overcome the challenges of an aging workforce, the industry will need to capture the attention of many more of Ceasor’s peers in Generation Z, the 13- to 26-year-olds that are quickly coming of working age. Manufacturing is on track for 2.1 million unfilled jobs by 2030, when the last Baby Boomers—currently making up about a quarter of manufacturing’s workforce—will reach retirement age.
“It really does contribute to a lot of goals and aspirations people my age have,” says Ceasor, who works part-time at Parker Hannifin, a Cleveland-headquartered manufacturer. “Whether that’s going into college, going into manufacturing long-term, or just helping out financially in the meantime.”
Gearing the Message Toward a New Generation
In many ways, attracting Generation Z requires a rewiring of decades of societal sentiment. For 30-plus years, we’ve been discussing four-year universities as the path to economic success. Manufacturing jobs were considered dark, dingy, uncool, and underpaid.
The reality, of course, has shifted. Manufacturing offers a quicker and less constrained path to a well-paying job where employees get to contribute at the cutting edge of new technology. But perceptions are lagging behind.
“It’s a slippery slope,” says Marvin Rashad, my colleague at MAGNET, the nonprofit manufacturing consultancy I run in Cleveland. “You don’t want to come off like you’re bad-mouthing college. But I want students to at least look at the other side of the coin.”
Rashad, who works as a youth mentor in our Early College Early Career program, says his conversations with kids often end up boiling down to the math. For some students, spending $200,000 or more on a college education simply isn’t feasible. But ears perk up when he starts to talk salaries—and that’s when parents get on board, as well. The average starting salary for a college graduate is $55,260, according to Zippia. With the right training, some students can earn more than that in their first year in an advanced manufacturing career.
“A lot of our students are coming out of high school and feel like they don’t have any other option than to go to college—that they’re going to be a failure if they don’t,” Rashad says. “We’re here to change that narrative.”
Appealing to Gen Z
The work of Rashad and others will be vital to change the perception, because so much of the issue is one of marketing. But manufacturers also must create a company for which younger people actually want to work.
That means taking a hard look at every part of your business, including:
Work hours. Broadly speaking, Gen Z desires balance. Most manufacturers can’t offer remote work, but they can enable balance by allowing employees to leave their work on the shop floor when they go home every night. Even better, some manufacturers are beginning to test flexible schedules, allowing employees to pick the shifts that fit their needs.
Culture. Generation Z may be clamoring for work-life balance, but they’re also interested in doing meaningful work when they’re on the clock. Manufacturers should be adjusting their messaging to underscore how what they do matters. Steel makers don’t just make steel, they create the physical backbone of our cities. Companies that institute advanced tech on their assembly line aren’t simply helping their bottom line, they’re helping transform their operations to improve resiliency, which will ensure we all get the things we need when we need them. Help your employees buy into the mission.
Opportunity for advancement. Manufacturers should ensure every employee has a path to move up, and they should be talking about those opportunities with candidates early and often. Offering training opportunities can also help workers boost their skills while furthering their careers.
Manufacturers also can’t forget that Gen Z, like every other generation, is comprised of individuals. Those individuals have their own wants and needs, personalities and ambitions. Communication is key in helping companies understand and support their specific teams.
“It’s about mixing diverse groups together and having them do meaningful work together,” says Leslie Yerkes, a long-time consultant to manufacturers and other companies who teaches a course on managing different generations at Case Western Reserve University. “It’s about recognizing the individual talents of each individual, regardless of what generation they come from, and positioning them to use their strengths.”
Eyeing a Future in Manufacturing
As Ceasor begins his last year in high school, he sees a future that could entail welding car parts or designing them as an engineer. For now, he’s laying the foundation by working at Parker Hannifin, which focuses on motion control technology. Ceasor does final inspections, and he’s enjoying it. And who knows? “I may commit to staying in that field after all,” he says.
He still has time to figure it all out. Manufacturers fighting for talent, on the other hand, are feeling the heat to turn things around soon.
One way or another, their ability to pull in Generation Z will determine their success over the long haul. To be sure, it will take all of us to change the perception of what a career in manufacturing looks like. But it’s up to individual manufacturers to evolve their cultures and their operations to bring in young people who’ve discovered the promise of the industry.
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