Creators Wanted: NAM 2019 State of Manufacturing Tour Includes Bishop-Wisecarver & Local High School
“Manufacturers in America are part of the solution to nearly all of our pressing global challenges.”
~Jay Timmons, President & CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)

This quote is heard in the NAM State of Manufacturing Tour 2019 video highlighting their Creators Wanted campaign and on-site discussions and visits earlier this year with manufacturers, teachers, students, government officials and business leaders from eight states. Bishop-Wisecarver was one of the sites for this year’s visit to California and Pamela Kan, Bishop-Wisecarver President, hosted a roundtable discussion that included NAM and representatives from:
  • ALOM
  • Dow
  • Hunter Hawk
  • Sensiba San Filippo
  • Shell
  • Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Development
  • Association of Manufacturers, Bay Area (AMBayArea)
  • California Manufacturers & Technology Association (CMTA)
The group discussed possible solutions to some of the current problems facing manufacturing; namely, the huge shortage of qualified employees now and looking into the future, and the need to change misconceptions about the benefits and realities in the current manufacturing industry. It is something Pamela speaks and writes about often in an effort to encourage more people to consider manufacturing as a challenging, creative, technologically advanced, well-paying career option.

After talking through ideas and solutions, the group drove to Pittsburg High School to meet directly with students currently taking STEM classes and those participating in the FIRST Robotics Challenge. Many students are part of a hands-on program called Project Lead the Way that teaches Engineering and Computer Sciences coursework such as 3D Design, modeling, and printing; robotics design and programming; computer numeric control, advanced analytics and other technologies important to manufacturers.

Bishop-Wisecarver has sponsored this Pittsburg High School FRC team for several seasons, the school sends their students to our Manufacturing Day event each October, and the relationship carries over into other opportunities throughout the year. Hearing directly from the students about their STEM studies, interest in manufacturing and future plans was inspiring. This talented, diverse, smart group of students gave feedback important to understanding the place of manufacturing in their long-term goals.

This year’s NAM State of Manufacturing Tour was a great reminder of the successes in the manufacturing industry and the challenges that need to be answered to help it remain that way. Bishop-Wisecarver is committed to working with both national organizations like NAM and regional groups like CMTA, to highlight the vast opportunities in manufacturing, while also helping to find solutions to the challenges.