Thousands of Missouri students set to explore careers in manufacturing
Each October, factories across Missouri open their doors to students as a way to showcase careers in the manufacturing industry. To help in this effort, the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry is taking this annual tradition online with a statewide virtual Manufacturing Day event on Oct. 7.
The virtual event will feature detailed video tours inside factories across Missouri. Students can see how products are made in Missouri and learn about high-tech, good-paying manufacturing jobs that are available today.
Missouri’s virtual Manufacturing Day will take place from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 7. It will begin with a welcome message from Gov. Mike Parson. The event will be streamed live via Zoom and the Missouri Chamber’s Facebook page. Classes, students and members of the public are welcome to join at any time during the event and stay connected for as long as they like. The program will be broken into segments featuring a different manufacturer every 20 minutes.
The virtual event will also include the opportunity for students to interact with manufacturing leaders and ask questions. Featured manufacturers include Boeing, Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Nike Air Manufacturing Innovation, Seyer Industries, Quaker/PepsiCo, and more.
“Nike is proud to sponsor this year’s Manufacturing Day,” said Cheryl Renne, General Manager for Nike Air Manufacturing Innovation. “We see this as an opportunity to build deeper, more meaningful relationships with the next generation who will join us in pushing the boundaries of our industry forward.”
Registration is free and teachers are encouraged to sign up and participate with their classes. Students — including those learning remotely — can also sign up individually and attend the program via Facebook live. Thousands of students and teachers have already registered to take part in this virtual Manufacturing Day event.
“The Missouri Chamber is very excited to be hosting this statewide Manufacturing Day event once again. We continue to see workforce shortages in our manufacturing sector across the state in every community. We need to do everything we can to make sure we give our young people the opportunity to be inspired to pursue a career in manufacturing,” said Daniel P. Mehan, Missouri Chamber president and CEO. “Going virtual with Manufacturing Day in 2022 allows us to keep the momentum we’ve built in recent years. We’d like to encourage as many students, teachers and parents as possible to join us on Oct. 7.”
To date, there are over 5,100 students registered to attend via their classroom teachers.
The Missouri Chamber has developed this virtual event in collaboration with the Manufacturing Institute, and the Missouri Department of Elementary & Secondary Education. The Missouri event is presented by FORVIS and statewide sponsors include Toyota, Nike AIR Manufacturing Innovation, Chamber Benefit Plan, and The Boeing Center for Supply Chain Innovation at Washington University.
