Machine Shop Growth
The Machine Shop Growth Podcast gives a fresh perspective to help you grow your shop by focusing on 3 key factors - Sales, Marketing and Efficiency. For decades the machine shop industry was build on a “good-ol-boys” mentality and was full of great machinists and engineers that made great parts. What has been discovered is many of those amazing shops have plateaued or are starting to decline - because they didn’t put enough emphasis on getting more work and making more money with the work they had.
On this podcast you will hear first hand advice from machine owners and mangers how they are getting more work and how they are making more money. Now let’s Grow Your Shop!
Machine Shop Growth
Episode #22: Why Young People Aren’t Choosing Manufacturing — And How to Change That
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Young people aren’t avoiding manufacturing because they hate it.
Most of them simply don’t know it exists as a career path.
In this episode of the Machine Shop Growth Podcast, Kirk Phelps sits down with Mike Franz of Shop Floor Coffee to explore why fewer young people are entering the manufacturing industry — and what shop owners can do to change that.
They discuss the real reasons behind the talent gap and how awareness, community engagement, and leadership inside the shop all play a role in attracting the next generation of workers.
You’ll learn:
• Why manufacturing still struggles with outdated perceptions
• How robotics competitions and STEM programs are feeding the future workforce
• Why parents and teachers influence career decisions more than most people realize
• How shop culture impacts whether young employees stay or leave
• Why machine shops need to market to future workers — not just customers
Manufacturing offers incredible career opportunities.
But if the next generation doesn’t see it, they’ll never choose it.
Subscribe to our weekly format:
Sales & Marketing (1st & 3rd Tuesdays)
Operations & Engineering (2nd & 4th Tuesdays)
Bonus joint episodes on 5th Tuesdays
If this episode helps, please leave a review — it helps more shop owners discover the show.