The SME Education Foundation supports the Additive Manufacturing Competition and Tooling U-SME’s Additive Manufacturing Fundamentals Certification exam at the annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Louisville, Kentucky by providing scholarships to the high school winners of the contest.
A decades-long national bias against vocational careers continues to inform high school graduates that four-year college degrees are the only option for achieving success. Government data tells us otherwise. There are millions jobs in the United States that pay an average of $55,000 per year and don’t require a bachelor’s degree.
Our scholarship application process for 2022-23 is now open. If you are an engineering professional or educator with a STEM background, please consider volunteering to serve as a scholarship application reviewer for our online review process.
Industry knows that the current — and looming larger, the future — lack of skilled and prepared employees is severe. This skills gap could lead to a shortage of as many as 2.4 million manufacturing workers in the next decade. Our challenge remains the same, and our education and industry partners share that challenge: How can we attract, interest — and then inspire young people to explore the opportunities being offered?
Diversity in Action magazine featured the SME Education Foundation’s efforts to reach more students from underrepresented groups and provide them with opportunities to pursue careers in the manufacturing industry.
Manufacturers, communities, educators, students and parents can all benefit from participating in Manufacturing Day: Last year, more than 80% of students said they became more convinced that manufacturing provides interesting and rewarding careers after attending these events.