We’ve got a real problem on our hands in America. A gap is growing between manufacturing workers set to retire in the next 10 to 15 years and the workers needed to fill their vacancies. Despite the exciting and innovative things happening in the manufacturing industry, Millennials’ outdated perception of shop-floor jobs is increasingly precluding them from following the manufacturing career path. And Gen-Z, thumb deep in their smart phones, have an even greater disconnect.

The reality is manufacturing continues to evolve with other industries. Many of today’s workers have tech-savvy jobs that require using software to model products with 3D visualization tools, mining big data with analytics, and automating assembly with robotics. From procurement to design, building, delivery, and service, there are considerable opportunities for the workforce—not to mention extensive room for growth—at some of the world’s largest companies.

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