Snyder urges young people toward manufacturing

Governor Rick Snyder took a tour Monday of the Oakland Technical Campus in Pontiac as high school students showed off what the place has to offer.

"I declared today Creators Wanted Day because we need creators in manufacturing," Snyder said.

February 12 is now officially Creator's Day as part of a push to get young people interested in manufacturing career paths like robotics and welding.  

"We lead the nation in manufacturing let's stay number one," Snyder said.

These manufacturing jobs are in such high demand, some of the students before they even graduate are getting job offers from multiple companies. 

"It's incredible that these young people are having multiple job offers where it is coming down to (them) calculating how much they can put on a 401K," Snyder said. "That's a great problem to have at 17."

Snyder was joined by the head of the National Association of Manufacturers who are on a two-week tour of tech campuses around the country. They made their first stop right here in metro Detroit. 

"They already have a head start," said Jay Timmons, CEO & President National Association of Manufacturers. "So their careers are almost started. It is just a matter of time before they start getting paid for the work they do."

CEO Jay Timmons says right now in the US there are 360,000 manufacturing jobs available. By 2024 that number is projected to shoot up to two million.

"If I ask a group of young people, have you thought about a career in manufacturing, not many hands go up," Timmons said. "If I say do you want to invent the next revolutionary device like say an iPhone that would change the future, every hand in the room goes up."

Many of these careers don't require a four-year degree, which Timmons says avoids student loan debt and gets young people working sooner.

"If you want to be part of changing the world for the better, that's what manufacturing is all about."