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The NAM and The Manufacturing Institute have launched a large-scale project to promote vaccination among manufacturing workers and communities, called “This Is Our Shot.”

As NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons describes it, “This project builds on our months of work advocating the use of face masks and other smart health measures to protect all Americans . . . . Now is our opportunity as a country to end this pandemic. Our future depends on all of us rolling up our sleeves and getting armed against COVID-19.”

So how did they make it happen? We recently talked to NAM Vice President of Brand Strategy Chrys Kefalas about the inside story.

Why: As Kefalas puts it, “We have a crisis. Depending on which study you look at, between 30% to 40% of Americans say they will not get a COVID-19 vaccine. We have to take direct aim now at vaccine hesitancy; otherwise, we’ll have safe and effective vaccines and not enough people willing to get them to reach heard immunity.”

Why the NAM and the MI? The NAM, along with its workforce development and education partner, the MI, has a “singular power” to leverage manufacturing’s unifying position as a trusted community resource, Kefalas explains.

How: In the spirit of manufacturers everywhere, let’s take a look at how this project got made.

• First, the research: “We’ve relied on a wide range of suggestions and guidance, from manufacturers of all sizes and all sectors. We’ve also sought recommendations from the Gates Foundation, the CDC and other public health leaders,” says Kefalas.
• Second, the reach: “We’re engaging company medical officers, local health care providers and community members who can change hearts and minds about COVID-19 vaccination.”
• Third, the sights: “It’s going to take videos, photos, flyers, posters, emails—and other very visible signs that others are getting armed against COVID-19.”
• Fourth, the psychology: Research shows that a sense of group loyalty or patriotism can boost vaccination numbers, Kefalas explains. To create that sense of solidarity (and social influence), the NAM and MI will distribute red and yellow ribbon pins for those who get vaccinated—and encourage people to put up red and yellow ribbons outside their homes once their whole households have received the vaccine.

What can you do? The initiative is providing manufacturers with communications materials to share with their teams. As Kefalas says, clear, consistent and direct communication from employers and peers really helps. “And when you are conveying medical information, rely on the experts like medical officers and direct people to their medical providers,” Kefalas suggests.

All we need is love: In case you missed it, the first video in this initiative dropped yesterday, a charming short called “I Love Frank.” Kefalas explains the idea: “Caring for others is really the one message that seemed to resonate across all demographic groups. Vaccinations should be really simple, because it comes down to one thing: we want to protect the people we love.” You can’t say it any better than that.

Washington, D.C. – As worldwide cases of COVID-19 reached a sobering new milestone of 100 million people, the National Association of Manufacturers and The Manufacturing Institute—the workforce development and education partner of the NAM—are launching a new project taking direct aim at vaccine hesitancy and stopping the virus in its tracks by convincing more Americans to prepare to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. This project follows the NAM’s nearly year-long campaign imploring Americans to follow CDC guidelines, such as wearing a mask and social distancing.

The project, called “This Is Our Shot,” seeks to boost COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among manufacturing team members, their families and their communities through a multifaceted national campaign. With another grave milestone breached and the virus mutating, the country’s response and recovery is depending on manufacturing workers more than ever.

As part of the launch, the NAM released “I Love Frank,” a public service announcement highlighting why manufacturers are rolling up their sleeves to get a COVID-19 vaccine: to protect their family, coworkers and the people they love. The PSA will run across various social media and digital platforms and is the first in a series that will be released in 2021.

“One hundred million people have now been impacted by this horrible disease. Asking all Americans to roll up their sleeves and get vaccinated against COVID-19 is a pivotal step toward stopping this upward trend, putting millions of people back to work and eradicating this virus. That’s why today the National Association of Manufacturers and The Manufacturing Institute launched ‘This is Our Shot,’ to get more people armed against COVID-19 and to protect the people we care about,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons.

“This project builds on our months of work advocating the use of face masks and other smart health measures to protect all Americans as we continue to share our insights with the Biden administration and state officials to help defeat COVID-19. Now is our opportunity as a country to end this pandemic. Our future depends on all of us rolling up our sleeves and getting armed against COVID-19.”

Background:

The project, live at NAM.org/ThisIsOurShot, includes six main components: (1) science-based messaging research; (2) emergency industry convening and education, such as webinars; (3) an online vaccine information hub; (4) a PSA campaign; (5) a Yellow and Red Ribbon initiative (for vaccinated individuals to show their peers they’re a part of the fight); and (6) a rapid response media and digital campaign. Resources available at NAM.org/ThisIsOurShot will be updated regularly, providing the latest information and tools for vaccine outreach and access.

-NAM-

The National Association of Manufacturers is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs more than 12.3 million men and women, contributes $2.32 trillion to the U.S. economy annually and has the largest economic multiplier of any major sector and accounts for 63% of private-sector research and development. The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. For more information about the NAM or to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org.

Washington, D.C. – As the National Association of Manufacturers and The Manufacturing Institute, the nonprofit workforce development and education partner of the NAM, continue to provide transformational support for the industry, the organizations announced key promotions to multiple divisions.

Among those being promoted at the NAM is Ken Monahan, to Vice President of International Economic Affairs after serving as a member of the policy team since 2015.

“Ken has been a pivotal member of our team during a volatile trade policy environment and adeptly helped our members navigate through it,” said NAM President and CEO and MI Chairman of the Board Jay Timmons. “He took on complex issues created by the pandemic and was instrumental in our successful campaign in support of U.S. congressional passage of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement. His expertise and experience will help manufacturers shape trade policy as we work with the incoming Biden administration.”

Additional promotions in the NAM’s policy, communications and membership divisions, as well as the Manufacturing Leadership Council, include the following:

• Kristie Arslan has been promoted to Senior Director of Member and Board Relations.
• Charles Crain has been promoted to Senior Director of Tax and Domestic Economic Policy.
• Alyssa Dixon has been promoted to Associate Director of Conference Operations.
• Nina Hawkins has been promoted to Senior Director of Membership Operations.
• Brian James has been promoted to Senior Director of Conference Operations.
• Susie Larson has been promoted to Manager in the Office of the President.
• Kevin Mullooly has been promoted to Director of Editorial.
• Joe Murphy has been promoted to Associate Director of Rapid Response.
• Megan Stewart has been promoted to Assistant Vice President of Membership.
• Dan Witherington has been promoted to Director of Council Development within the MLC.

The MI announced that Herb Grant has been named its new Vice President of Operations after serving as Director of the NAM’s Creators Wanted initiative, responsible for the operations of the manufacturing’s largest campaign to change perceptions and close the skills gap, and in recent months the Creators Respond effort, which helped mobilize and support the industry’s response to COVID-19.

“The need to attract and retain a skilled workforce continues to be manufacturers’ top concern according to the NAM’s quarterly Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey, and the MI and the Creators Wanted campaign is needed more than ever to help close the skills gap facing our nation’s manufacturers as they work to produce needed supplies to battle the pandemic. Herb’s industry experience was vital to the national response in the past several months, and now as we look at what is needed to spur our economic recovery, he will serve an important role in accelerating and expanding the impact of the MI,” said MI Executive Director Carolyn Lee. “The tremendous expansion of the MI’s work in the past year speaks to those priorities, and this new position will lead an effort to build and expand the MI’s operational systems and processes to drive the mission execution and support the annual delivery of the MI’s programs.”

Additional promotions at the MI include the following:

• Jen White has been promoted to Senior Program Manager on the Heroes MAKE America team.
• Alexandra Becker has been promoted to Manager on the Workforce team.

“Manufacturers’ ability to meet the needs of the country and be the arsenal of democracy in the most challenging year since the great recession has been on full display,” said Timmons. “The NAM and MI’s leadership throughout the pandemic is made possible by the people that comprise our best-in-class staff. Each one of these individuals has gone above and beyond their current roles and repeatedly delivered results for manufacturers in America. In their new roles, they will be an integral part of moving our industry forward beyond the COVID-19 pandemic and addressing the challenges in the years ahead.”

-NAM-

The National Association of Manufacturers is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs more than 12.3 million men and women, contributes $2.33 trillion to the U.S. economy annually and has the largest economic multiplier of any major sector and accounts for 63% of private-sector research and development. The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. For more information about the NAM or to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org.

-Manufacturing Institute-

The MI grows and supports the manufacturing industry’s skilled workers for the advancement of modern manufacturing. The MI’s diverse initiatives support all workers in America, including women, veterans and students, through skills training programs, community building and the advancement of their career in manufacturing. As the workforce development and education partner of the NAM, the MI is a trusted adviser to manufacturers, equipping them with resources necessary to solve the industry’s toughest challenges. For more information on the MI, please visit www.themanufacturinginstitute.org/.

Nicole Reyna’s professional journey—from college student to Army sergeant to senior quality assurance technologist at Smithfield Foods—wasn’t one she had planned. But thanks to The Manufacturing Institute’s Heroes MAKE America program, it’s one that has brought her where she wants to be. Initially, Reyna was interested in medicine and went to college to become a medical assistant. Shortly before graduation, however, she had an experience that changed her mind.

“I was two months from graduating that program, and I was working on removing stitches—and that’s when I realized I was not what you would call a ‘medically inclined person,’” Reyna said.

Instead, she spoke to recruiters at her local mall and ended up joining the U.S. Army, where she served for 12 years in logistics and quality assurance. When she left the military in 2019, she had only 90 days to find a job. And while she was enrolled in Department of Defense program that teaches veterans about resume building and job searching, she ran into a Heroes MAKE America program manager sitting outside the door, giving feedback on job candidates’ LinkedIn profiles and talking about a certified manufacturing program.

“It was a chance thing,” said Reyna. “But the Heroes program was fantastic. They walked through your resume; they help you write your resume; we’d do mock interviews. You go through The Manufacturing Institute’s certification process. And every week, we would go to manufacturing facilities and see what they look like—how robotics work, how generators are built, how food is manufactured. It was very comprehensive.”

The program managers were also highly engaged in ensuring Reyna found a role. When she was initially passed over for a position at a Smithfield distribution center, Reyna’s program manager called the company’s talent acquisition executive to make sure Reyna could receive an interview. After a conversation, Smithfield decided to find Reyna a role—and today, Reyna is one of three senior quality assurance technologists for one of Smithfield’s large distribution centers.

After her experience, Reyna has one piece of advice for people considering the Heroes program: Do it.

“The opportunities afforded to you are insane,” said Reyna. “When you don’t do these programs, you’re thrown to the wolves. At the Heroes program, you have resume assistance, you see facilities, you get to meet with people and speak with hiring managers. And if we put in a resume somewhere, we’d tell our program managers we applied and they’d call to follow up. It’s invaluable.”

About 30 million American workers without four-year college degrees have the skills necessary for jobs that pay 70% more than their current roles, according to a new study cited by The New York Times (subscription).

The opportunity: “The findings point to the potential of upward mobility for millions of Americans, who might be able to climb from low-wage jobs to middle-income occupations or higher.”

• “Our research shows the same thing,” said Manufacturing Institute Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Gardner Carrick. “We know that less than half the people that earn a manufacturing certification go to work in manufacturing. Those people have the skills to work in manufacturing, but are not doing so. And we know that is costing them between $10K–$15K in earnings every year.”

The challenge: These workers may not know they have the skills for more lucrative careers, and potential employers may be on the lookout for particular certifications or degrees. Today, two-thirds of jobs require some postsecondary education or training—whether that involves a four-year college degree, or a specialized technical or nontechnical course that prepares a potential employee for their role.

A way forward: The Manufacturing Institute’s FAME program offers students the opportunity to earn a two-year associate degree while working in their sponsor’s manufacturing facility as an Advanced Manufacturing Technician (AMT).

The pitch: “The FAME program enables people to maximize their earnings, because we don’t just build skills—we teach individuals to be world-class manufacturing employees,” said Carrick. “A recent study by Opportunity America and the Brookings Institution showed that FAME students are more than twice as likely to complete school as students in other similar technical programs and will earn almost twice as much as those students in the five years after school.”

Washington, D.C. – Following President-elect Joe Biden’s announcement nominating Denis McDonough for Secretary of Veterans Affairs, National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons released this statement:

“Throughout his career, Denis McDonough has proven to be a leader of extraordinary capability. He brings a focused, collaborative approach to any mission, and he has proven a strong commitment to our nation’s veterans. We congratulate him on this announcement.

“Through The Manufacturing Institute’s Heroes MAKE America initiative, manufacturers are working every day to help our veterans and members of the military community find new careers in modern manufacturing. We have been working with the VA to support the veteran community in translating their skills into new opportunities in our industry. We look forward to working with Secretary-designate McDonough and the VA in the Biden administration to build on this work—supporting our heroes and strengthening manufacturing in America.”

-NAM-

The National Association of Manufacturers is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs more than 12.2 million men and women, contributes $2.35 trillion to the U.S. economy annually and has the largest economic multiplier of any major sector and accounts for 62% of private-sector research and development. The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. For more information about the NAM or to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org.

About the MI

The MI grows and supports the manufacturing industry’s skilled workers for the advancement of modern manufacturing. The MI’s diverse initiatives support all workers in America, including women, veterans and students, through skills training programs, community building and the advancement of their career in manufacturing. As the workforce development and education partner of the NAM, the MI is a trusted adviser to manufacturers, equipping them with resources necessary to solve the industry’s toughest challenges. For more information on the MI, please visit creatorswanted.org 

About Heroes MAKE America

Heroes MAKE America, an initiative launched by the MI to build connections between the military community and manufacturing industry, is a Department of Defense (DoD) SkillBridge approved training program that equips participants with the skills and certifications needed to find and excel in manufacturing careers. Service members, their families, veterans and reservists are eligible for the program which currently operates at military installations in Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, Kentucky and Kansas. The Heroes team recently launched Heroes Connect, a 100 percent virtual offering that allows prospective talent from the military community to connect with hiring managers from manufacturing companies. The new offering was created to supplement a cornerstone of the Heroes program which was to provide weekly tours of manufacturing facilities looking to hire Heroes graduates. For more information on Heroes initiative, please visit themanufacturinginstitute.org/heroes-make-america

As more women enter the manufacturing industry every day, they need guidance from those who have already succeeded. Luckily, BASF Corporation Senior Vice President of Chemical Intermediates North America Erika Peterman is happy and proud to show the way.

Peterman is the 2020 chair of The Manufacturing Institute’s STEP Ahead Awards, which recognize accomplished women in manufacturing from the shop floor to the C-suite. She also works with BASF to increase the number of female leaders within the company, recognizing that strong female leadership brings value to corporations, as a study from MSCI shows. BASF is also a proud sponsor of the STEP Ahead Awards and participates in many programs that encourage women and girls to enter this rewarding field.

So what does Peterman have to say to women who are just starting out? Here is her advice, courtesy of a recent email interview.

1. Don’t underestimate your abilities.

As a young engineer, I was once called in to solve a problem affecting distillation operations. After chatting with the control room technician, I asked her to run a little test, opening and closing various valves while also recording process flows and temperatures. It took only 20 minutes (enough time for a pleasant conversation about weekend plans), after which I shared the solution with my boss.

That 20-minute test had a big impact on my career. Later that afternoon, my boss told me that the team had struggled with this problem since before I took the job. Had I worried about how my solution measured up to previous ideas, I may never have solved it at all.

2. Be prepared to be tested, but stay calm and trust you belong.

Women have earned a seat at the table, but unfortunately, some people will challenge you anyway. Later in my career, when I worked in product management, my boss’s boss told me my salary was “much higher” than my counterparts’. I was thrown, but I knew my response would matter not only to me, but to other women who looked up to me as a role model.

I told myself to stay calm and responded that he should consider placing me in a higher-level role commensurate with my compensation. Of course, I’d done the market research and knew I wasn’t overpaid. I also knew this boss had a reputation for trying to catch people off guard—but this time, he was the one who didn’t know what to say! To this day, I’m proud of how I managed that conversation. I knew I had to defend myself, because if I didn’t, no one else would.

3. Learn to listen and become comfortable with not being the expert in the room.

I have so many examples for this that it’s hard to choose just one. Everyone has points in their career when they do not know all the answers, and that is okay. The key is to be confident in what you do know and comfortable going to others to ask for assistance.

Considering multiple perspectives and forging strong alliances within your organization are the keys to driving progress and innovation. Let go of your ego to allow for clarity of thought and action, and it will set you apart from others.

Check out the STEP Women’s Initiative and the STEP Ahead Awards here.

Merck Chairman and CEO Ken Frazier is one of the few African American CEOs of a Fortune 100 company and a passionate advocate of manufacturing’s diversity and inclusion efforts. Recently, Manufacturing Institute Executive Director Carolyn Lee asked him a few questions by email about Merck’s approach. The condensed interview is below.

What advice do you have for CEOs looking to improve their organizations’ diversity and culture of inclusion? 

Well, first things first—you must understand your own environment. What does the data tell you about the diversity of your organization? Do your employees believe they can bring their most authentic selves to work each day? What are people telling you? You should be having courageous conversations with them.

Once you figure out what your employees think, you can work on changing that environment. You should also plan on integrating your solutions into all your internal and external policies.

From there, you need to monitor progress and make sure your leadership is modeling the changes for all employees. Those leaders must be held accountable for your D&I goals.

How have you implemented such an approach at Merck?

We work hard to make our culture as inclusive as possible, so that all our workers feel empowered to fulfill our mission of saving and improving lives. We’ve made sure that our talent processes take unconscious bias into account, from hiring to reviews to succession planning. We’ve also created employee business resource groups, which not only support people at work, but have a meaningful say in our business practices.

Meanwhile, we weave D&I efforts into our day-to-day business activities. We work to get diverse patients into clinical trials, ensure our business strategies are relevant to patients all around the world and prioritize diversity among our suppliers.

Diverse employees are also a major asset for a company serving a diverse patient base around the globe. We need employees to bring their knowledge and experience to work so they can teach us how to serve our patients better.

And lastly, I strongly believe that we must learn from and be a role model to others, both in manufacturing and beyond. We have joined coalitions and organizations such as The CEO Pledge for Diversity and Inclusion, Paradigm for Parity and The Valuable 500, all of which do excellent work in the D&I sphere.

How can D&I efforts complement the industry’s work to close the “skills gap”?

We know there were around 12 million unfilled jobs in this country before the pandemic, and there are 5 million inner-city and other African American kids who want access to the economy. They want to be participants. They want to be citizens. They want to be leaders. What they lack is the education and the opportunity—and we business leaders can fix that.

Following the industry’s June “Pledge for Action,” the National Association of Manufacturers brought industry leaders together to focus on recommending bold next steps to increase equity and parity in our sector and increase opportunities for underrepresented communities in America. Click here to add your company to manufacturers’ combined efforts to make a difference—and make a Pledge for Action Commitment.

And register here for the Manufacturing Institute’s Virtual D&I Summit on December 7 and 8, where you’ll learn more about advancing diversity and inclusion in the manufacturing workforce. 

Residents of York, Pennsylvania, will proudly tell you about the role it played in the “Arsenal of Democracy” during World War II. Today, the town is drawing on that manufacturing heritage as it adapts to the digital age. And among the leaders of the transformation is the collaborative robotics startup York Exponential, which has partnered with Microsoft’s new skills initiative to help York residents get the education they need for high-tech manufacturing jobs.

The initiative: Microsoft’s global skills initiative is designed to help 25 million people worldwide gain digital skills by the end of the year. It is intended to offer rising and mid-career professionals the skills they need to succeed in a changing economy—both during and after COVID-19. The program also includes partnerships with local companies like York Exponential that seek to upskill workers.

“If there’s maximum digital transformation in the U.S. post-COVID, we believe there is capacity in the United States for the manufacturing sector to absorb more than a million new roles in technology,” said Microsoft Philanthropies General Manager of Digital Inclusion Naria Santa Lucia.

How it works: Microsoft uses LinkedIn data to identify jobs that are in demand, projected to grow in the future and accessible to applicants without a related degree. It offers free learning content to help people develop the skills those jobs require, including soft skills like virtual collaboration. The initiative also offers certifications and job-seeking tools to connect people with applicable jobs.

In practice: York Exponential is looking to add well-rounded employees—new workers proficient in digital skills as well as experienced workers who can gain new qualifications, said CEO John McElligott. The company is combining its own community outreach with Microsoft’s curriculum and skill tools to help new and existing employees alike gain the qualifications they need to be successful.

Why partnerships matter: Partnerships like this one offer exponential benefits by joining large-scale training efforts and resources with local talent.

• From Microsoft: “The most important consideration is locally-based entities that are trusted by the community,” said Santa Lucia. “If we’re going to change this economy and who has access to it, it’s about the networks you’re introduced to and who is going to connect you where you need to go. The content is important, but it’s really about that personal connectivity. That’s how we get to jobs.”
• From York Exponential: “Communities like us are often overlooked,” said McElligott. “People go to major metropolitan areas and big cities. So the fact that we’re having these discussions with Microsoft means a lot—an initiative of this size could have an outsized impact on a community as small as us.”

The last word: “This generation growing up today is the superhero generation,” said McElligott. “They grew up watching the Avengers, in a world where everything is robotics and superpowers. They are primed to do amazing things with technology—and to build things for their families, their communities and their country.”

October is Manufacturing Month and a perfect time to check out the exciting careers and training opportunities available from companies like Microsoft and York Exponential. There are still many events left, including an October 28 capstone event presented by Microsoft and called “Creators Wanted: Empowering a Diverse and Sustainable Manufacturing Workforce.” You can find the list of events at creatorswanted.org.  

Residents of York, Pennsylvania, will proudly tell you about the role it played in the “Arsenal of Democracy” during World War II. Today, the town is drawing on that manufacturing heritage as it adapts to the digital age. And among the leaders of the transformation is the collaborative robotics startup York Exponential, which has partnered with Microsoft’s new skills initiative to help York residents get the education they need for high-tech manufacturing jobs.

The initiative: Microsoft’s global skills initiative is designed to help 25 million people worldwide gain digital skills by the end of the year. It is intended to offer rising and mid-career professionals the skills they need to succeed in a changing economy—both during and after COVID-19. The program also includes partnerships with local companies like York Exponential that seek to upskill workers.

“If there’s maximum digital transformation in the U.S. post-COVID, we believe there is capacity in the United States for the manufacturing sector to absorb more than a million new roles in technology,” said Microsoft Philanthropies General Manager of Digital Inclusion Naria Santa Lucia.

How it works: Microsoft uses LinkedIn data to identify jobs that are in demand, projected to grow in the future and accessible to applicants without a related degree. It offers free learning content to help people develop the skills those jobs require, including soft skills like virtual collaboration. The initiative also offers certifications and job-seeking tools to connect people with applicable jobs.

In practice: York Exponential is looking to add well-rounded employees—new workers proficient in digital skills as well as experienced workers who can gain new qualifications, said CEO John McElligott. The company is combining its own community outreach with Microsoft’s curriculum and skill tools to help new and existing employees alike gain the qualifications they need to be successful.

Why partnerships matter: Partnerships like this one offer exponential benefits by joining large-scale training efforts and resources with local talent.

• From Microsoft: “The most important consideration is locally-based entities that are trusted by the community,” said Santa Lucia. “If we’re going to change this economy and who has access to it, it’s about the networks you’re introduced to and who is going to connect you where you need to go. The content is important, but it’s really about that personal connectivity. That’s how we get to jobs.”
• From York Exponential: “Communities like us are often overlooked,” said McElligott. “People go to major metropolitan areas and big cities. So the fact that we’re having these discussions with Microsoft means a lot—an initiative of this size could have an outsized impact on a community as small as us.”

The last word: “This generation growing up today is the superhero generation,” said McElligott. “They grew up watching the Avengers, in a world where everything is robotics and superpowers. They are primed to do amazing things with technology—and to build things for their families, their communities and their country.”

October is Manufacturing Month and a perfect time to check out the exciting careers and training opportunities available from companies like Microsoft and York Exponential. There are still many events left, including an October 28 capstone event presented by Microsoft and called “Creators Wanted: Empowering a Diverse and Sustainable Manufacturing Workforce.” You can find the list of events at creatorswanted.org.