What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?

There are 15,000 manufacturers in Pennsylvania. These companies collectively employ tens of thousands of workers and contribute significantly to the state's economy. But the manufacturer’s biggest struggle is to find technical talent, which will continue to have broad economic implications. Many students are unaware of the variety of high-paying careers available in the manufacturing sector.

The What’s So Cool About Manufacturing® (WSCM) career awareness program is a project-based, real-world learning experience for middle school student teams. The program is executed as a video competition where 7th and 8th grade student teams are paired with a local or regional manufacturer.

Through collaboration and media training, each student team creates a video that highlights careers and technology at their partnered manufacturer. The program culminates with online voting by the public and an “Emmy-like” Awards event to increase awareness about exciting career opportunities at manufacturers in the community.

We’re looking for manufacturing companies that would like to embrace the opportunity and invest in the future of manufacturing. We are also looking for schools to invest in the future of their students by helping them to explore the world of manufacturing through a fun, activity-based program.

Manufacturers Resource Center created the What’s So Cool About Manufacturing® (WSCM) career awareness program in 2013 to help build a strong pipeline of technical talent and give students a new perspective on exciting STEM career opportunities that exist at area manufacturing companies.

The WSCM Program is implemented as a student video contest. Student Teams compete by creating short media stories featuring accurate images of today’s manufacturing and promoting their video to peers, parents, educators, and the community. The contest culminates with public online voting and an Awards Event.