Manufacturing leaders launch national tour from Northern Colorado, Boulder Valley

National Association of Manufacturers president Jay Timmons, along with a contingent of manufacturing industry leaders, are set to kick off a two-week, 25-city tour Tuesday with stops in the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado.

The fifth annual National Association of Manufacturers State of Manufacturing Tour stops first at a Ball Aerospace facility in Westminster, followed by events at Dieter’s Chocolate’s Denver manufacturing operation, the Innovation Center of St. Vrain Valley Schools in Longmont and the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Fort Collins.

“This is a really great example of the diversity of types of manufacturers that have a presence here in Colorado,” Timmons said. “… Colorado is a leader in manufacturing and we want to help point out that there are many types of jobs and opportunities in manufacturing that can fit with the interests of anybody — from making chocolates to making satellites that connect the world, and everything in between.”

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Each stop will allow Timmons and Carolyn Lee, executive director of The Manufacturing Institute, to meet with manufacturers, learn about their challenges and successes, and receive feedback about how the industry can ensure the workforce has the right skills.

The association estimates that there will be more than 2.5 million U.S. manufacturing jobs in need of filling over the next decade.

TImmons said was particularly excited to visit the Innovation Center and meet with students who might eventually opt to join the manufacturing workforce.

“One of the main focuses of this tour is to really highlight what the (career) opportunities are in modern manufacturing,” he said.

“We really need creators … and we are not focusing enough on STEM skills: science, technology, engineering and math,” Timmons said. “ … We need to start aligning our (schools’) curriculum with the needs of the future.”

Communicating the job skill needs of the manufacturing industry with schools and other organizations involved in workforce training and education “is one of the hardest problems, frankly, that we have to solve,” Timmons said.

“We are hopeful that tours like this will help boost that understanding” of what manufacturing employers need from the workforce of the future.