Manufacturing Day: NFPA’s Speaker Bureau

Manufacturing Day (MFG Day) is a celebration of modern manufacturing meant to energize and inspire the next generation of skilled workers. It is an initiative of The Manufacturing Institute, a workforce development and education partner of the National Association of Manufacturers.

Manufacturing Day is only a few weeks away. Officially, it is on Friday, October 7th, but many companies celebrate Manufacturing Day the whole month of October.

Each year companies across America open their doors or visit classrooms to show their communities what manufacturing really looks like. NFPA supports events like these both through our own programs and by encouraging members to take advantage of opportunities like MFG Day to inspire the next generation of skilled workers.

These events generate excitement and help students connect to their curriculum in a concrete way as they return to class in the fall. We have heard numerous instructors note improvements to student understanding of concepts and enthusiasm about learning more from touring facilities or otherwise seeing different fluid power applications so that they can visualize how they are going to implement them in the future.

Manufacturing Day is an excellent opportunity for industry members to participate in NFPA’s Speaker Bureau. By bringing industry professionals to classrooms virtually or in person, the Speaker’s Bureau promotes fluid power education and helps our industry members foster connections with local schools in their communities. 

Speakers can use their own company’s presentation or NFPA’s draft presentation template to share their first-hand experience about what it’s like working in manufacturing. In addition to education, work experience, salary, company culture, and real-world examples of fluid power technologies and their markets, industry members can offer a wealth of information to students as they are beginning to make decisions about their future career path.

NFPA can help you plan activities with local schools in your community. If you’re interested in the Speaker Bureau program or want more information on MFG day, contact NFPA Workforce Program Manager Eric Pannell at epannell@nfpa.com or 414-778-3364.