Guest Blog by Ashley Humphrey, Director of Marketing & Communications at Hoffmann Group USA
When many think of the manufacturing industry, they envision a male-dominated, warehouse environment that many women wouldn’t want to explore. However, the current manufacturing landscape in the country is beginning to provide more and more diverse opportunities for women in the industry. These opportunities come at all levels of the business from the shop floor to the executive suite and are primed for women of all education levels and skill sets to seize.
As the Marketing Director for a leader in the manufacture and distribution of industrial tooling at Hoffmann Group USA, I work with the US team to support the growing endeavor to bring more opportunities for women in our industry. We back numerous apprenticeship programs around the country with tooling discounts, gifts for graduates, and financial support. To me, it’s important that all students, including young women, receive information about career paths in manufacturing as early as grade school to be well-versed in the subject when it comes time to make college decisions later. It is vastly important that these young women know that opportunity abounds in the industry, like any other, if they take the initiative to pursue it.
As advances in technology continue to change the way goods are produced, the landscape of manufacturing will undoubtedly change to require a more specialized skill set in its workers. Young women who take up that challenge will need degrees and experience in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields to ultimately be successful.
Women who already hold positions at companies across the country are prime examples of success and achievement in these fields. From welders to shop supervisors, and salespeople to CEOs, they are taking on more and more roles within manufacturing to make a positive impact on the future of the industry. That future holds great opportunity for women everywhere who want to be a part of a fast-paced, growing industry that many may not have considered in the past.