Nearly one-quarter of the roughly 15 million Americans employed in manufacturing in 2024 are 55 or older; seven percent are 65 or older. In addition to workers’ retirements, manufacturers’ changing needs will create new roles requiring different skills from those used in the past. Lehigh Valley education authorities, industry groups, and companies are working together to be sure young residents interested in careers in manufacturing have the resources they need to find the jobs that will be available to them.

‘Enlighten and educate’

Manufacturers Resource Center may not be a household name in the Lehigh Valley, but close to 1,500 teams of young people who have participated in its “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?” contest through local school districts know its work. MRC is a public-private nonprofit with a mission of enhancing economic opportunities in manufacturing in Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Carbon, and Schuylkill counties. Its public funding has both state (Pa. Dept. of Community and Economic Development) and federal (U.S. Dept. of Commerce) sources.

In 2013, MRC launched “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing” in Allentown with the objective of changing the way schoolchildren think about jobs in manufacturing. The first contest, which took place a year later, was called “Lehigh Valley Skill-Up.” It relied upon resources from the MRC, as well as Lehigh Career and Technical Institute, the Lehigh Valley Workforce Development Board, and the Da Vinci Science Center.

Today, districts across the state participate in the contest, in addition to schools in Colorado, Florida, New York, Ohio, South Dakota, and Virginia. Videos made by teams from the inception of the contest are available to K–12 educators in a digital library that features collaborations with more than 700 manufacturers.

Jordan Hocking, who teaches industrial arts at both Northeast and Nitschmann middle schools, is the coach of the WSCAM team for Northeast. He has been involved in the competition since 2015, when it expanded to his former employer in Schuykill Haven, and says he has two aims for the nine eighth-graders on his team.

“First and foremost,” Hocking shares, “we want to enlighten and educate our local community as well as the general community about the importance of manufacturing: what it is, what it looks like – modern manufacturing especially, because one of the misconceptions is that it’s all assembly line work.” Today, Hocking explains, “it’s a lot of robotics, a lot of computerized systems, but there’s still that human touch that’s required to make the final product.

“So in one sense it’s nice not only to show the students I directly work with what it looks like, but then the second part is for them to become storytellers and be able to develop a coherent story and present it in a way that’s enjoyable.”

Hocking’s team is working with Ocean Spray in Breinigsville. Daniel Wynn of Broughal MS is leading a team partnered with Stanley Black & Decker in Allentown.

Wynn is new to the teacher-coach position this year, but has WSCAM experience as an instructional technology coach supporting three different middle schools. In that role, he went on the manufacturer site visits, as well as brainstorming with the students, but “being a teacher-coach is completely different,” he says. “You’re immersed in it.”

Wynn recruited a sixth-grader who has morning announcements broadcast experience to join the team of four eighth-graders; three seventh-graders are also learning the ropes.

Coaching this year’s team brought home two things to Wynn: There are many different ways to get involved in manufacturing, and where you start is not necessarily where you’ll finish. His team met individuals at Stanley Black & Decker who received all their training on the job and worked their way up, as well as a team leader who earned his welding certifications at the Career Institute of Technology before adding a business administration degree to his resume. One of the employees the students interviewed changed her career path entirely after an internship at the company during college.

East Hills MS teacher-coach Serena Calario reports a productive experience partnering with well-known local candymaker Just Born Quality Confections. Her team of seven sixth- and seventh-graders “learned about the production of Peeps®, Mike & Ikes®, and Hot Tamales®, and were able to see many of them in various stages of manufacturing.”

Eager to understand the workforce as much as the product lines, the students interviewed Just Born employees “about their experience working in a candy land and the magic behind making candy.” The company “help[ed] students to bring their ideas to fruition,” as well as providing the bonus of taste-testing opportunities.

Voting for the WSCAM contest opens March 17 and runs through midnight on March 19 online at whatssocool.org/contests/lehigh-valley. Prizes will be awarded at Stabler Arena on March 25. Trophies are being machined by students at Lehigh Career and Technical Institute, and local culinary students will compete in a cupcake competition.

‘Scooped up

right away’

The Industrial Training & Education Consortium of the Lehigh Valley (iTEC) is proud of the region’s standing in the global manufacturing community, noting that the Valley’s manufacturing sector ranks in the top 15 percent nationwide for economic output and drives 18 percent of the region’s private sector revenue.

Bethlehem Area SD has partnered with iTEC to create a pre-apprenticeship course for high school students at Freedom and Liberty.

Career Pathways Liaison Amy Meyers led the effort, which included work with Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation and with local manufacturers to understand skill requirements. Meyers also researched national manufacturing standards; the curriculum was vetted by iTEC before its release. Aiming for 20 students and open to both Freedom and Liberty HS, the program has attracted 27 enrollees in its inaugural semester. Meyers describes the pre-apprenticeship as a good fit for students who missed out on the opportunity to enroll at Bethlehem Area Vo-Tech School, and want to prepare for a career in manufacturing. “There aren’t a lot of apprenticeships out there – iTEC has 12,” she notes, “so our kids will definitely get an interview for an iTEC apprenticeship when one is open,” but more important, students who complete the pre-apprenticeship “would be scooped up right away by employers” for entry-level manufacturing positions.

Bethlehem Area SD acquired all the equipment needed to give students experience with a variety of tools. “Our manufacturers here are so varied,” Meyers observes. Students will use (among other tools) 3-D printers, CNC machines, and robotic arms. Although the district was prepared to make the investment in the necessary equipment, a $200,000 school-to-workforce grant from the state made budgeting for the program easier.

‘Manufacturing

Dream Team’

MRC also forges connections between local manufacturers and local CTE schools, including high-school vo-tech programs and career education programs at community colleges like NCC and LCCC. In addition to making introductions to the right people to facilitate appropriate manufacturing curriculum development, MRC brings local manufacturers into schools through a program known as the “Manufacturing Dream Team.”

Dream Team members visit schools – at no cost to the school or the manufacturing employer – to “share career stories and work with students on hands-on activities,” explains Director of Workforce Initiatives Karen Buck.

“A Martin Guitar employee might bring in some items where the students can make a little guitar,” Buck elaborates, “or if we have a mechanical engineer, they might bring in a catapult activity to show what engineers do, and talk about their day and how they spend their time, and what kind of education they got.”

Dream Team visits give K–12 students the chance to envision themselves in a career in manufacturing. Team members might tell students “what they were like as a student, things they wish they had known along the way [and] …what their life looks like because they have a job in manufacturing” in the Lehigh Valley, Buck says.

Team members receive professional development coaching from the MRC, elevating their own skill set. In the fall of 2025, 325 Dream Team members from 15 Lehigh Valley manufacturers visited 3000 students. Of particular interest to MRC is the recruitment of local CTE graduates who can highlight the role their education played in their career success.

Local companies find Dream Team and “What’s So Cool” participation valuable, appreciating the opportunity to share their excitement about careers in manufacturing with students.

Marta JeBran, director of government and community affairs at Crayola, observes, “A career in manufacturing is about more than making products. Every company has a purpose and manufacturing employees play a vital role in bringing that purpose to life.” People working at Crayola, she says, take part in a mission to “inspire creativity and spark imaginations,” adding that “the talented people in our manufacturing facilities make that possible for millions of children and families around the world. Manufacturing is a place where your skills and ideas can help create something meaningful.”

FMI founder and CEO Kevin Rhodes focuses on the range of possibilities available in manufacturing. “I wish students knew the wide variety of jobs in a manufacturing company,” he says, asserting, “whether you love science, math, technology or the arts, there are jobs where you can excel and have a rewarding career.”