
Reaching the Next Generation to Help Fill 3.8 Million Manufacturing Jobs
It seems like only yesterday we were worrying about unemployment rates. But today, finding jobs isn’t the issue — it’s filling them, especially in the manufacturing industry.
First, some good news on progress: According to a recent report by Deloitte, the manufacturing sector in the U.S. has rebounded from the pandemic with robust growth and is projected to maintain this momentum for the foreseeable future.
That said, the same report also underscores how the manufacturing industry continues to grapple with a shortage of job applicants. More specifically, 3.8 million new employees may be needed between now and 2033.
Considering the earnings potential for manufacturing employees, it may be difficult to understand why more young people aren’t racing to enter the sector. For example, the average U.S. manufacturing worker earned $102,629 annually (including benefits) in 2023, and 93% of manufacturing employees were eligible for health insurance benefits in 2024. (Source)
So why does the industry face a worker shortage?

The culprit: Misconceptions regarding the manufacturing industry
According to Kate Fiorianti of PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, one reason might be the misconceptions regarding the industry.
“The stigma behind manufacturing is that it’s dark and dirty,” says Fiorianti. “At least that’s what some parents have in their minds. But it’s not like that. Plants have clean and sanitary conditions. Robotics and clean rooms are now the norm.”
Fiorianti is Director of Workforce Development for PMMI. It’s her job to help the packaging industry upscale its current workforce by educating future workers about the vertical.
PMMI’s goal is to convince more of today’s eligible workers to consider the employment opportunities in manufacturing. In addition, the organization makes a concerted effort to reach the next generation of workers — and their parents. By making an impact on parents and school-aged children, PMMI hopes to alter the old perceptions of manufacturing.

Sponsoring robotics teams is a way to reach new students
PMMI’s goal has led to the PMMI U Skills Fund. The program provides PMMI members with the flexibility to provide training to employees and participate in the development of educational programs in the region.
More specifically, it has allowed Delta ModTech to sponsor numerous high-school-aged robotics teams participating in challenging competitions.
For example, at the second annual PACK Challenge competition, a coalition of Becker High School (Becker, Minn.) and Legacy Christian Academy (Andover, Minn.) took first place for Overall Best in Show, along with a $9,000 prize in the 2024 PACK Challenge Competition. The event was part of PACK EXPO International at the McCormick Place in Chicago.
Delta ModTech’s own Todd Kruse, Electrical Engineer, and Brendan Dahl, Sales Business Development, served as coaches to the team.

The competition, produced by show organizer PMMI, brought together five finalist high school teams from Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin in an end-to-end packaging challenge that showcased creativity, innovation, and ingenuity.
Each team was provided with the components necessary to design and build a functional denesting and orientating machine in a mock production line. The winning machine from the coalition of Becker High School and Legacy Christian Academy stood out for its innovative use of material handling solutions and its ability to meet the demands of today’s packaging industry.
By winning Overall Best in Show, the team now qualifies to showcase their machine and company at the PMMI Pack Expo in Las Vegas in 2025.
How hard is traditional recruiting?
The robotics teams are a great example of new tactics being employed to recruit in manufacturing. Creative approaches like this have become the new norm for companies.
Toby Fuerst, Chief Financial Officer of Delta ModTech, has noticed the increasing difficulty in finding skilled workers. The tightening job market, combined with the company’s continuous growth, has definitely posed a challenge.
“We’ve had new learning curves in recruiting. We’ve become more intentional with our search process,” Toby says. This includes leaning more heavily on recruiters, adding HR staff, utilizing web tools, and tapping into Delta ModTech’s referral base.
Intangibles also help the cause. Delta ModTech has an attractive work environment, has built a new state of the art facility, and continues to provide a workplace filled with the most challenging — and interesting — work known to the industry.
Despite the current state of recruiting, “We are seeing plenty of resumes, but the challenge is to find the ideal fit for both culture and skills,” Toby notes.
The future for recruiting is based on reaching tomorrow’s workforce
While Delta ModTech might not be feeling the pinch as much as others, it’s wise to expect things to only get more difficult. That’s why the company is open to taking interns as they graduate from high school, as well as new teenage employees.
“We get them familiar with the industry and work environment by starting with basic assembly and maintenance tasks for the company,” Toby says.
It also requires getting younger people more familiar with the industry through programs like PMMI. Toby recalls a story about how large food companies are not only reaching out to high schools but even to the middle school ranks.
It’s all about sharing facts about the career field and the good paying jobs within the arena. “We want them to think about a life in this exciting industry of automation,” Toby adds.
Only good can come from reaching kids at a younger age
In contrast to the world of sports, where recruiting young people can overload them with surreal celebrity status and outrageous expectations of wealth, there is nothing but good that can come out of the robotics program from Delta ModTech and PMMI. Especially in a world that needs their help.
“Automation is not a career that’s going away,” Toby says. There is an “exponential effort” underway to automate in manufacturing — perhaps because of a diminished workforce, perhaps because of the need for greater profits. It’s likely both factors are at play.
And beyond manufacturing, inspiring students to engage in programs like the ones sponsored by PMMI and Delta ModTech can only lead to a smarter society as a whole. That’s a curriculum every company should support.
OVERCOME YOUR BIGGEST CONVERTING AND PACKAGING CHALLENGES
Next Post
IM Engineering’s MD&M West 2025
Previous Post
AABC 2024