MI, Saint-Gobain Kick Off MFG Day 2026 in Georgia

Today is MFG Day! Manufacturers all over the country are opening their doors to show students, parents and teachers all that manufacturing careers can offer. The Manufacturing Institute—the workforce development and education affiliate of the NAM—and Saint-Gobain celebrated the day at the company’s state-of-the-art production facility in Peachtree City, Georgia.

The event: More than 100 high school students and educators from Fayette County Public Schools toured the facility, where they saw firsthand how the sustainable construction materials manufacturer makes its CertainTeed line of roofing shingles for use in residential construction.

• MI President Carolyn Lee and Saint-Gobain North America and CertainTeed CEO Mark Rayfield spoke to the students about the wide array of career opportunities available in modern manufacturing.

A month of manufacturing: While MFG Day itself always occurs on the first Friday in October, the festivities extend throughout the month and beyond, as thousands of events take place at manufacturing facilities and educational institutions across the country.

• Each event is designed to expand career awareness and reshape perceptions of manufacturing, inspiring students to explore creative, high-tech careers in the industry.

Why it matters: Today, manufacturers are struggling to fill over half a million open jobs.

• Research from the MI and Deloitte shows that nearly 2 million manufacturing jobs could go unfilled by 2033 if the industry cannot find more skilled workers.

The AI angle: The industry’s swift adoption of AI only makes the demand for skilled workers stronger.

• Just this week, the MI launched its AI Skills for Manufacturing Training Suite, part of the MI AI Skills Initiative to train 40,000 current and future manufacturing workers in the fundamental AI skills they will need as advanced manufacturing evolves.

The MI says: “We’re proud to partner with Saint-Gobain this year to celebrate MFG Day and give students a firsthand look at our industry,” said Lee.

• “There’s no better way to understand manufacturing than to get up close and see all the parts—and all the people—that come together to make the things that make modern life possible. By inviting students to see this for themselves, they can imagine themselves behind the line, operating our high-tech equipment, in our research labs or guiding our operations.”

Saint-Gobain says: “Saint-Gobain is committed to ensuring the next generation of the manufacturing workforce is educated about the opportunities in this exciting field,” said Rayfield.

• “We’re thrilled to sponsor MFG Day 2026 and open our doors to help even more students discover what modern manufacturing really looks like and start them on the path toward a bright future in manufacturing.”