Manufacturing “Is the Place to Be”: Creators Wanted Wraps Up Freeport Stop
As job recruiters rush back to campuses and career fairs nationwide, the NAM and The Manufacturing Institute’s Creators Wanted Tour Live continued to help manufacturers stand out in the competitive labor market this week in Freeport, Texas.
The reach: The three-day tour stop, presented by Creators Wanted Legacy Sponsor Dow, drew more than 800 students to Brazosport ISD’s new Career and Technical Education Center.
- More than 25,000 students and career mentors signed up online to learn more about modern manufacturing careers.
- Students came from all over the area, including from Brazoswood, Angleton, Brazosport, Columbia and Sweeny High Schools.
Who’s who: Students and teachers got access to top industry leaders, including:
- Dow Senior Vice President of Operations, Manufacturing and Engineering John Sampson;
- Dow Vice President of Operations for the Gulf Coast Fernando Signorini;
- Cornerstone Building Brands Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Katy Theroux;
- Dow Plants A&B Manufacturing Director for Texas Operations Sharon Hulgan; and
- BASF Corporation Vice President of Operations, Polyamide & Precursors Deborah McKitten.
These leaders joined creators at their companies, as well as team members at Fluor Corporation, on livestreamed panels throughout the stop to discuss their career journeys and offer advice to students. Here are some of the themes of the events.
Inclusion and diversity: Manufacturing is “for all,” said Dow Associate Research & Development Director Kalyani Martinelango during a Creators Panel on inclusion, diversity and equity.
- She continued: “For Dow to be competitive, we need to be inclusive. And it’s not just about diversity of gender or race … but thought, too. We have to be passionate about inclusion because it’s the right thing to do.”
Change the world, live a good life: Panelists uniformly agreed that manufacturing careers offer significant benefits.
- From making more sustainable products to driving innovations to advance decarbonization to great pay, industry careers offer a lot.
- “Manufacturing is an awesome [career] option,” said Hulgan, who oversees two plants in the company’s Texas operations. “They’re in the top 10% of income earners. … This is the place to be if you like to have a nice lifestyle.”
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