Workforce in Focus

Meet the MI’s New Student Engagement Tool

By MI NewsroomMarch 3, 2025
Manufacturing professional using a tablet in an industrial factory setting.
Male African maintenance engineer working in automotive parts production line while using a digital tablet for check about a data reviews .He 'd tried to manage and balance process line.

Manufacturers need to fill 3.8M jobs by 2033, with half at risk of remaining unfilled due to a skills and applicant gap. To address this, manufacturers must support early career awareness and exploration for students as early as elementary school.

Today’s 4th graders will graduate high school in 2033 and could be your future workforce.

To help, the Manufacturing Institute has developed The Quest for the Crystal of Innovation (Innovators Quest), a gamified experience for grades 4-9. This turnkey solution allows manufacturers to engage students in a fun, challenging and age-appropriate way, either in classrooms or at community events like summer camps, expos, and MFG Day.

Learn more about Innovators Quest here.

Already convinced? Sponsor your own kit here.