Manufacturers reach out to high schools for new workers

After recent surveys showed parents held negative views about blue-collar work, manufacturers are holding with parent’s night events at high schools, hoping the outreach to the parents will help them win over a younger generation of potential workers, reports the Wall Street Journal.
There are more than 400,000 unfilled positions in the sector. Low unemployment combined with anxieties about the manufacturing have contributed to a shortage.  Industry experts say blue-collar jobs are stereotyped as dirty or grimy, but many modern-day positions require involve technical expertise in operating big machinery. Many Americans are shunning blue-collar work, believing it is low-paying and physically grueling labor. That and the emphasis society places on obtaining a college degree are contributing to a manufacturing worker shortage. However, in the coming years, new manufacturing jobs are expected to make up a significant portion of the nation's overall job growth; last month alone, the sector added 25,000 jobs.