How Do Young People in Minnesota Perceive Manufacturing Careers?

Despite offering the second-highest wages in Minnesota, manufacturers are losing young talent to other burgeoning industries like healthcare and high tech. And, as fewer high school and college grads pursue careers in manufacturing, the state’s largest private-sector industry is struggling to recruit and retain the talent it needs for the digital future.  

We polled 1,000 workers age 18 to 40 in Minnesota about whether they would consider a career in manufacturing, why, and what manufacturers can do to better attract them. Here’s what they said.

• Young Minnesotans (18-40 years old) are invested in the future of manufacturing, and most perceive the industry positively – but 44% would not consider careers there
• Minnesotans believe manufacturing companies are tech-forward, but the rise of automation holds them back from pursuing long-term careers in the industry
• Early education and awareness of manufacturing career drives interest

With manufacturing playing such a large role in the local job market, Minnesotans recognize the industry’s impact on the state’s economy and the importance of keeping it healthy. Nearly all those surveyed (97%) said they understand the importance of growing the manufacturing industry and keeping manufacturing jobs in the state.

They also have a more positive than negative perception of manufacturing careers, with the positive raters (70%) citing competitive compensation and rewarding/fulfilling work as the top two reasons. However, the other 30% said they feared manufacturing isn’t a place they could have a long-term career and cited work culture as another top reason for their negative rating.

The main challenge for employers to address, however, is that 44% said they would not consider a career in manufacturing. Respondents pointed to the following ways employers could make the industry a more attractive place to work:

1. Offer even better compensation and benefits
2. Provide clearly defined career advancement opportunities
3. Make the work environment safer

Education and awareness drive positive perceptions and consideration of manufacturing employment. Minnesotans who were exposed to the industry at an early age — whether at school or through a family member— are more likely to pursue a manufacturing career for themselves. While 56% of those surveyed said they would consider working in the manufacturing industry, that number rises to 62% for those who have immediate family members employed in the industry and 65% for those who learned about manufacturing careers in their youth. 

When those who haven’t worked in the industry were asked why they chose other careers, one-third said the idea of working in the industry had never crossed their mind, and 31% said it was because they didn’t have the right education, training or skills. Only 43% of respondents learned about manufacturing job opportunities before turning 18. 

Encouragingly, young professionals in Minnesota view manufacturing as a tech-forward industry. Three in four respondents said the industry will fully leverage technology over the next decade, and nearly half — 48% — believe manufacturing will create new job opportunities in areas like technology, engineering and customer service. This is a huge area of opportunity for firms to tout the variety of career tracks in the industry. 

But while Minnesotans associate the manufacturing sector with smart technology, they don’t completely understand how the industry uses technology and what it will mean for job security: 42% need employers to prove job security in the face of AI advances. 

The industry has an opportunity to leverage its positive perception and tech-forward reputation to attract a new generation of talent. 

Manufacturing firms, and not just those in Minnesota, are already feeling the pain of the constrained job market. With unemployment at historical lows and the draw of urban-based jobs in sleek office spaces, the ability to attract and retain tech talent while also building the next generation of tech-savvy skilled workers grows more difficult. But the data above gives us some direction to address the challenge:

• Start with the talent you have. Identify skill gaps in your own organization and allow those to guide the design of future roles. By defining an aspirational direction for your own culture, you can align employees with the greater mission of your company and the industry at large. 
• Clarify technology’s role. The prospect of automation causes workers to worry about long-term careers. Dispel those concerns by educating on how tech can create new, safe and innovative career paths in the industry. Emphasize automation’s role in fueling, not hindering, long-term manufacturing careers. 
• Educate early and often. Awareness is key to winning over potential talent. Proactively engage young people in the local community and build new trade programs focused on advanced manufacturing technologies.

The manufacturing industry has an opportunity take control of the narrative and provide transparency about how and why it uses technology, as well as the new careers that will emerge. By communicating what the future looks like for the up-and-coming workforce, Minnesota manufacturing firms can better position the industry to attract and retain a new generation of talent.