American Seating Hosted Manufacturing Day Event for Union High School Students

American Seating welcomed more than 50 students, teachers and other leaders from Union High School and Grand Rapids Public Schools for a celebration of modern manufacturing meant to inspire the next generation of manufacturers.

The Manufacturing Day event was part of a nationwide effort to change people’s perceptions about today’s manufacturing environment and draw attention to the outstanding opportunities that careers in manufacturing can provide.

“We were very pleased to host 12th-grade students from Union High School, young men and women who are beginning to think of and plan for their futures – futures that we hope may include careers in manufacturing. We want to build awareness of the importance of manufacturing as a backbone of the American economy, the need for skilled workers and that manufacturing is a great career choice for young people looking toward their futures,” American Seating President Tom Bush said.

Manufacturing Day is an annual national event executed at the local level and supported by thousands of manufacturers as they host students, teachers, parents, job seekers and other local community members at open houses, plant tours and presentations designed to showcase modern manufacturing technology and careers. American Seating was among nearly 2,000 organizations nationwide that honored America’s legacy of and renewed commitment to manufacturing.

“American Seating is proud of a 130-year history (and counting) that has remained committed to employing an American workforce,” Bush said.

The company has been on the same campus in northwest Grand Rapids, Michigan, since 1886, where it makes seats and related products for just about every public setting imaginable, including bus seats for public transit as well as seats for classrooms, auditoriums and sports stadiums.

The company got its start by manufacturing the first student-seat-desk combination product. Today, its education products can be found in classrooms and workspaces across North America. Also, American Seating makes the No. 1-selling bus seat in North America. In fact, American Seating bus seats are in more than 70 percent of public transit systems across North America.

Need for more skilled workers in manufacturing

According to a landmark study and follow-up skills gap report, U.S. manufacturers like American Seating face skilled worker shortages. First published in 2001 in partnership with Deloitte, The Manufacturing Institute’s Skills Gap Report identified the mismatch between the skills of available workers and skills that manufacturers demand. The 2005 and 2011 reports confirmed that gap and showed an increasing mismatch of skills.

The 2015 Skills Gap Report reinforces the talent challenge that U.S. manufacturers face and warns of even greater skilled worker shortages in the near future. The average age of a manufacturing employee nationwide is 56, and between now and 2020 there will be an unprecedented shortage of skilled workers.

The Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte also partnered to produce the Public Perception Index that measures public opinion on a range of issues affecting manufacturing. First published in 2009, the Public Perception Index has found that the U.S. public greatly supports the manufacturing industry and would choose to have a manufacturing plant open in their region over other types of employers. However, the public is unwilling to encourage their children pursue careers in manufacturing and believes the government has not enacted policies supportive of the manufacturing sector. 

Changing perceptions by inviting students to experience manufacturing

Activities at American Seating for Manufacturing Day included a guided tour that explored the “life of a product” from ideation through production; the event also included tours of American Seating’s transportation plant, as well as tours of the company’s historic headquarters building and its products showroom.

The event additionally included presentations by American Seating team members as well as representatives from Grand Rapids Community College and Grand Rapids Community Foundation, who spoke about local manufacturing-education programs and scholarship opportunities.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder declared the week of Oct. 2, 2016, Manufacturing Week in Michigan, and City of Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss also issued a proclamation declaring Manufacturing Week in Grand Rapids.