Host a Manufacturing Day Event this October!

Mason County, WA, businesses manufacture fascinating products. From value-added agriculture to advanced manufacturing, local companies offer unique necessities to customers throughout the country. But those diverse companies need a skilled, committed workforce to achieve their desired success. Recruiting, hiring and training that workforce is a constant process.

This year, October 7 is National Manufacturing Day and an excellent time for Mason County manufacturers to host an event and open their doors to showcase their operations to students, parents, teachers, and community leaders. It is the perfect opportunity to educate the future workforce on the realities of modern manufacturing careers.

Companies organizing a Manufacturing Day event take a novel approach to workforce development. As manufacturers seek to fill more than four million high-skill, high-tech and high-paying jobs over the next decade, Manufacturing Day empowers manufacturers to address the challenges of finding qualified workers while helping their communities and future generations thrive.

Mason County manufacturing companies offer employees career opportunities in various industries. Local timber and aquaculture resources provide employees with various roles between outdoor settings and facilities utilizing the latest technologies. Businesses can offer well-paying jobs due to Mason County’s unique infrastructure, saving on distribution costs due to easy access to the I-5 corridor and waterways through the county’s many ports.

How to Host a Manufacturing Day Event in October

The goal should be to establish a connection with your guests to communicate the importance of what you do. A little forethought and planning go a long way. The Manufacturing Institute has a toolkit to help plan tours, send invitations, and develop promotions.

Decide on Your Audience

Do you want to focus on middle or high school students to introduce them to career opportunities or reach out to local officials to show them your successes and needs? Of course, you can do both! And don’t forget about the media. You just need to keep your audience in mind when planning your event. The Economic Development Council of Mason County can help you connect with your desired audience. It’s essential to send out invitations as soon as possible.

Choose Your Event

Plant tours are the backbone of Manufacturing Day. By opening your doors to the community and showcasing operations, you can generate enthusiasm for your company and lay the groundwork for future involvement from your visitors. Job shadowing for students is also an option.

Virtual tours and webinars are other solid options since the world has become acclimated to the structure of online events over the past couple of years. The Manufacturing Institute can mail you a physical toolkit to help with your presentation.
Another option is participating in an off-site expo, job fair, or classroom presentation. The Economic Development Council of Mason County can help connect you with partners.

Plan Your Presentation

Don’t assume visitors know anything about manufacturing. You have to start by creating a company story that anyone can understand free of industry jargon. Of course, you can’t let visitors near the machinery. Still, you could create a display illustrating what a product looks like in various stages of completion and offer a hands-on experience where they could hold something they’ve seen made. 

If your audience is students, cater to them! Students are the workforce of the future. Use your event as an opportunity to provide information about the variety of careers your company offers and, importantly, the types of training and completed educational coursework you seek when hiring. Let them know if specific kinds of training or skills are necessary for the positions you seek to fill.

Put Out the Welcome Mat

Preparing for visitors to come through your door is just as important as all the plans to get to that point. Every interaction can lead to a future partnership, customer, or employee and first impressions count. Offer promotional items to give away if participating in an expo or job fair. Ensure your representatives have name tags and are ready to engage with the public. If you are hosting a plant tour, what does your facility look like from the parking lot? Consider putting up a welcome sign. Remember, the goal is to prove that manufacturing facilities are great places to work. Make sure there is no clutter, everything is in place, floors are clean and a path through the shop is easy to follow.

If you are drawing a blank on how to prepare your event, contact the Economic Development Council of Mason County for assistance in planning it today!