10/25/2011 1:10:00 AM
HEADLINES
IFI’s Friel: Manufacturing ‘Brain Drain’ Hurting U.S. Economy
Long before she became the first woman to lead the Industrial Fasteners Institute, Jennifer Johns Friel had a dream.
She wanted to join the football team at her high school.
“It was the only thing in my life my parents didn’t support,” Friel told a attendees of the Women in the Fastener Industry meeting at the National Industrial Fastener & Mill Supply Expo in Las Vegas.
So she never got to try out for the team, but she credits her otherwise supportive parents with helping her make other dreams — such as becoming a broadcast journalist — come true.
That strong family background came in handy when she left journalism and joined the family business — MidWest Fabricating Co. — some years later.
“My mother was always my biggest cheerleader, insisting I could do anything or be anything,” Friel explained.
Now Friel is president of the company her grandparents formed in 1945, leading a business with three manufacturing facilities in Ohio and California, and a workforce of 275 employees.
“I was really lucky,” she noted. “There was no glass ceiling at my company, and I know that’s not the case for everyone else.”
Friel acknowledged that her talent is different from previous generations. While her grandfather and father relied on their mechanical knowledge of every machine in their facilities, Friel said her success has come from communicating a vision for her company.
But new challenges face Friel and other manufacturers in the global economy of the 21st century.
“We have a brain drain” in manufacturing, she explained.
Friel cited a recent finding that while most people believe that domestic manufacturing is critical for economic prosperity and security, younger people don’t believe manufacturing has a future.
Most troubling, Friel said, was the fact that manufacturing now ranks “dead last” as a career choice for U.S. citizens between the ages of 18 and 24.
“Retirement of skilled workers is a huge issue for industry in general,” she emphasized.
At her company, 75% of the prime workforce is over the age of 40, with 25% have between 21-30 years of service.
“What we have done is invest very heavily in in-house training… because we know we have an issue.”
Friel said the IFI is working to overcome this very issue by promoting training and technology in the fastener industry.
Working closely with its 70 manufacturing member companies, 24 affiliates, and 34 associate supplier division members, the IFI is promoting education in the hopes of building a skilled workforce and attracting more leaders like Friel to the North American fastener industry.
“The future that’s available in manufacturing is very attractive,” Friel concluded. ©2011 GlobalFastenerNews.com
Long before she became the first woman to lead the Industrial Fasteners Institute, Jennifer Johns Friel had a dream.
She wanted to join the football team at her high school.
“It was the only thing in my life my parents didn’t support,” Friel told a attendees of the Women in the Fastener Industry meeting at the National Industrial Fastener & Mill Supply Expo in Las Vegas.
So while she never got to try out for the team, she credits her otherwise supportive parents with helping her make other dreams — such as becoming a broadcast journalist — come true.
That strong family background came in handy when she left journalism and joined the family business — Mid West Fabricating Co. — some years later.
“My mother was always my biggest cheerleader, insisting I could do anything or be anything,” Friel explained.
Now Friel is president of the company her grandparents formed in 1945, leading a business with three manufacturing facilities in Ohio and California, and a workforce of 275 employees.
“I was really lucky,” she noted. “There was no glass ceiling at my company, and I know that’s not the case for everyone else.”
Friel acknowledged that her talent is different from previous generations. While her grandfather and father relied on their mechanical knowledge of every machine in their facilities, Friel’s success has come from communicating a vision for her company.
But new challenges face Friel and other manufacturers in the global economy of the 21st century.
“We have a brain drain” in manufacturing, she explained.
Friel cited a recent finding that while most people believe that domestic manufacturing is critical for economic prosperity and security, younger people don’t believe manufacturing has a future.
Most troubling, Friel said, was the fact that manufacturing now ranks “dead last” as a career choice for U.S. citizens between the ages of 18 and 24.
“Retirement of skilled workers is a huge issue for industry in general,” she emphasized.
At her company, 75% of the prime workforce is over the age of 40, with 25% have between 21-30 years of service.
“What we have done is invest very heavily in in-house training… because we know we have an issue.”
Friel said the IFI is working to overcome this very issue by promoting training and technology in the fastener industry.
Working closely with its 70 manufacturing member companies, 24 affiliates, and 34 associate supplier division members, the IFI is promoting education in the hopes of building a skilled workforce and attracting more leaders like Friel to the North American fastener industry.
“The future that’s available in manufacturing is very attractive,” Friel concluded. ©2011 GlobalFastenerNews.com
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Related Links:
• IFI
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