Contest Aims To Stimulate Interest In What's Built In Philadelphia Region
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Voting is underway in the first annual "What's so cool about manufacturing?" contest. Middle school students in Philadelphia, Bucks and Montgomery Counties made videos about companies in the region, and now the public can vote through midnight Friday.
Steve Jurash is president and CEO of the Manufacturing Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, or MAP. He says students shadowed manufacturing companies, armed with GoPro cameras, and then put together 2-minute videos.
"What we're trying to do to is stimulate interest in manufacturing careers," Jurash said.
Especially since many in the manufacturing field are nearing retirement age.
"Most of our skilled workers are entering their 60s, and our concern in there is no one coming up behind," Jurash said. "And we need kids to understand how cool manufacturing is, because what they think it is now is their grandfather's manufacturing, and advanced manufacturing is very different, and this is a very cool way to get kids and paretns to understand that."