Celebrate Manufacturing – National Manufacturing Day October 7

Occurring on the first Friday of October, Manufacturing (MFG) Day is October 7 this year. MFG Day is an annual event that showcases the strength of American manufacturing, as well as those who produce its goods and services, and which continues to advance the new technologies that grow the U.S. economy, create jobs, and keeps the nation competitive globally.  It empowers manufacturers across the nation to come together to address their collective challenges, highlight their successes, and illustrate how they can help their communities thrive. Last year more than 2,600 events were held with some 400,000 visitors participating.

MFG Day, first observed in 2011, started as a grassroots movement that co-partnered with industry-leading organizations such as the Fabricators & Manufacturing Association, International (FMA), the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), the Manufacturing Institute (MI), and the National Institute of Standards & Technology’s (NIST) Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) to draw the public’s attention to both manufacturing and its career opportunities

Last year’s Manufacturing Day inspired factories, colleges and cities to hold more than 2,600 manufacturing showcases across all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. These activities allowed more than 400,000 participants to experience first-hand the technologies available and items produced in their communities, as well as to energize the community’s future pipeline of skilled workers by touring plants and facilities, exploring career opportunities, including the skills needed for the industries highlighted, collaborating in hackathons, and celebrating local manufacturing activities or products.  MFG Day experiences matter – today’s STEM students and graduates will power the next chapter of American innovation and production and after participating in MFG Day events, a reported 81 percent of those students were more convinced that manufacturing provides careers that are both interesting and rewarding.

For more information on Manufacturing Day, including events in your community or to learn how to be involved, visit the  MFG Day website.