Kennametal Chairman, President and CEO Carlos Cardoso spoke Monday at The National Press Club in Washington DC about the need for greater emphasis on manufacturing careers, as well as the need for manufacturers to take a more active role in educating young people about opportunities in manufacturing and the nature of manufacturing work today.
The manufacturing sector has been steadily growing and is leading the economic recovery, he noted. However, he said as many as 600,000 manufacturing jobs are going unfilled, generally for lack of applicants with appropriate skills. A recent study found 67 percent of manufacturers surveyed reporting a shortage of available, qualified employees.
As part of his presentation, Mr. Cardoso introduced representatives from Greater Latrobe High School, a partner in Kennametal’s “Young Engineers Program.” This 15-week program at the company’s Latrobe, Pennsylvania headquarters involves interested students in manufacturing-related classroom discussions, projects and mentoring, all overseen by Kennametal staff members across various disciplines.
