CT has new opportunities for manufacturing careers

Chances are, if you are of a certain age, you or your parents were part of the majority in Connecticut if you worked in manufacturing. In fact, manufacturing drove the local economy and supported family progress and life throughout the state. During the First and Second World Wars, Connecticut manufacturers armed U.S. and allied forces who saved the world from evil.

Today, Connecticut manufacturers continue to lead in the areas of aerospace, sustainable energy, and production innovation. The world continues to depend on Sikorsky Aircraft, Pratt & Whitney, and Stanley Black and Decker, to name only a few. At the same time, high school graduates are finding the high costs of college unattainable, reaching an average cost of $38,270 per student per year, according to the Education Data Initiative.

According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in November 2023, 49% of respondents said it’s less important to have a four-year college degree today to get a well-paying job than it was 20 years ago. Coupled with insurmountable student debt, young adults are looking for other career options that do not require a college degree.

Here in Connecticut, we may be in the midst of a shift back to manufacturing. The percentage of manufacturing jobs in the state outpaces the national average, with about 10% of the workforce working in manufacturing, compared to the national average of 8.4%, according to the Connecticut Department of Labor. Currently, opportunities for manufacturing jobs far outweigh available workers. So, supply and demand dictates that an average salary of $82,000 per year is better than what workers are making in retail and many other popular industries.

For Treasure Nadwairski, the shift to a career in manufacturing was a stark contrast to her previous careers in massage therapy, sales, and real estate. After the move to remote work in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she found it difficult to sell properties. Her son, who has worked in manufacturing for years, told his mother that she should try making a career switch to the manufacturing industry. At almost 60 years old, she wasn’t sure she could do it.

In the more recent past, students were guided away from manufacturing because parents wanted cleaner, more professional opportunities that a college education afforded. But more and more college graduates are disappointed with the available jobs and wages available to them. As many end up living with their parents for more years than they expected while paying off thousands of dollars in student debt, delaying the ability to start their independent lives, the stigma of manufacturing is wavering in the eyes of parents and future workers.

These new manufacturing opportunities look more enticing to those looking for jobs that have a better return on training investment or even to the college engineering graduate. To feed this new movement for young students and people looking to switch careers, many new accessible paths for these manufacturing pioneers have been created out of necessity. Enrollment in vocational-focused community colleges rose 16% last year to its highest level since the National Student Clearinghouse started tracking this data in 2018.

While Nadwairski was looking for programs to gain the necessary training for her career switch, she came across the Skill Up for Manufacturing Program , a five-to-seven-week course preparing workers for entry level jobs in manufacturing, run by the South Central Connecticut Workforce Alliance. Nadwairski said the “program was perfect,” as it was easier for her to commit to a seven-week course rather than a seven-month course offered by other schools that she initially came across in her search.

Graduates of the Skill Up for Manufacturing program gain the introductory skills manufacturing employers are looking for, such as how to read blueprints, use calipers and micrometers, shop math, and more. They also receive Six Sigma Certification, an OSHA 10 Safety Card, a cash stipend, and the most ambitious participants are quickly placed with local companies upon completion of the program. The classes feature students with various backgrounds and age groups, from students like Nadwairski looking for a career switch to younger students looking to enter the workforce for the first time. The collaborative nature of the class enables students to help one another as they learn new skills.

Nadwairski said she was a little intimidated at first, but the instructors made her and everyone else in the class feel comfortable and gain confidence in their skills. One of the first questions her first employer asked her was, “Are you familiar with blueprints?” Thanks to the program, Nadwairski could confidently say “yes.”

Three years after her graduation, she is now working in inspection at Pratt & Whitney. She says, “You can’t go wrong going into manufacturing. When I see young people when I’m out and about, I think ‘What are you going to do with your life? Look into your future.’ Manufacturing offers plenty of opportunity and job security.”

The program began accepting applications for the next class on Monday, July 15, at Middlesex Community College and Vinal Technical High School in Middletown, which will offer two weeks of additional training in plastics.

In the great quote from the movie The Graduate , a family friend tells newly graduated Dustin Hoffman, “There’s a great future in plastics. Think about it. Will you think about it?” Maybe you or someone you know wants to think about it. If not plastics, applicants can ask about other sessions in September or throughout 2025.

Skill Up organizers say students, or parents looking to help their children find opportunities into real well-paying jobs can go to the Workforce Skill Up website or call (203) 867-4030 x 227.

Manufacturing industry representatives believe that their industry provides the same opportunities to the grandchildren of the people who once used manufacturing jobs to support people, families and dreams of quality living and generational success.

Jean Arnold-Barry is Skill Up Coordinator for the Workforce Alliance .