A recent poll asked manufacturing and engineering industry professionals, "Would you recommend a manufacturing career path to your children or grandchildren?" In 24 hours, the poll received nearly 350 responses, with the overwhelming majority, 78.24% (233 respondents), indicating that they would recommend such a path to the younger generations in their family.
Conducted by Industrial Media, the publishing company behind manufacturing industry tentpoles including Industrial Equipment News (IEN) and Manufacturing.net, the survey found that only 22% (58 respondents) wouldn't recommend a career in manufacturing.
An overwhelming majority of manufacturing professionals would recommend family members to take a similar career path. Industrial Media
The positions will most likely be available. The manufacturing sector is currently seeking ways to fill the more than 400,000 roles available in the U.S. — a number many insiders say the industry will struggle to overcome.
According to a recent study by Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute, the skills gap could result in 2.1 million unfilled jobs by 2030.
Managers say it has become increasingly challenging to find the right talent, and once they do, it's even harder to retain that talent.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual salary for manufacturing workers, in production and nonsupervisory roles, is about $61,742 per year—industrial production managers fetched north of $121,000 in 2024. However, money isn't the only carrot that draws prospective employees; candidates are also looking for companies with which they morally align and that offer a sense of purpose in their work. They are also drawn to companies that are better corporate citizens in the community and are willing to help employees with issues that extend beyond the job description.
For example, childcare costs are becoming increasingly untenable. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. families spend between 8.9% and 16.0% of their median income on full-day care for just one child. Annual prices ranged from $6,552 to $15,600 in 2022, the most recent year for which data are available—my family paid nearly $20,000 for daycare last year for one child.
The childcare conundrum has led companies like Toyota to get creative.
Toyota recently announced four new childcare centers across its manufacturing footprint, serving parents at Toyota's factories in Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, and West Virginia—the company already has similar centers at its Kentucky and Indiana plants. Toyota has had onsite, 24-hour-a-day care in Kentucky since 1993.
So, while most industry professionals would steer their families towards manufacturing careers, businesses should continue to offer salaries and incentives that not only lure new talent but also keep them on the payroll.
