Who Invented Manufacturing Day? And Other Gamechanging Questions

The event galvanized leaders and saved the industry from becoming irrelevant to a new generation.

Oct. 3, 2025

3 min read

High school students and their swag bags at Honda Marysville's Manufacturing Day, 2023.

This year marks the 14^th annual celebration of Manufacturing Day, an October showcase of manufacturing at its best presented to young people interested in STEM and the trades: technology-forward career paths; opportunities for education and advancement; and a culture of learning and respect for people.

We at IndustryWeek included the first Manufacturing Day in our September Gamechangers: 25 in 2025 series because it is a seminal event that has shaped the manufacturing workforce of today.

A bit of history: In the early 2000s, Millennials, the largest generation in the U.S. ever, began entering the workforce, bringing with them a sense of purpose; an ethos of work-to-live rather than live to work; and an elevated understanding of and desire to use the latest technology in their roles. They came of age as manufacturing’s reputation as a haven for middle-class jobs not requiring a college degree deteriorated with mass layoffs, offshoring and the overall U.S. shift to a service economy.

This new generation’s disinterest in manufacturing careers reached crisis levels for manufacturers by the end of the Great Recession, when companies realized that skilled workers who had left the industry for other roles weren’t coming back, and there was no one to replace them. They realized they had to take action or lose their competitive advantage.

In 2012, the Fabricators and Manufacturers’ Association (FMA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) joined forces to create Manufacturing Day—a national day of plant tours and events to show students interested in STEM and trades careers that there were meaningful, even exciting career possibilities in the field. About 240 events in the Midwest were held that year.

Thirteen years later, manufacturing facilities across the United States, from small machine shops to sprawling automotive plants, collectively host several thousand Manufacturing Day events each October. High schools and middle schools seeking opportunities for their students now have a direct link to professionals willing to host plant visits, set up internships, mentor students and visit classrooms.

Manufacturing Day is included in Part III of our Gamechangers series below. Read the full series to learn about the most significant leaders, technology, trends and events in the industry and find out more about why Manufacturing Day is important and where it fits into the manufacturing’s recent history.

Part I: Who Let China in? and Supply Chain Cracks Form

Part II: Auto Bailouts and Innovation in the Great Recession

Part III: Tesla Scores a Sweet Deal and Manufacturing Day Debuts

Part IV: Boeing Begins Its Descent and Additive Notches a Win

Part V: COVID Hits, GE Splits, Unions Commit