Best Practices for Attracting Young Talent to the Pennsylvania and U.S. Metalcasting Industry

C. R. Hasbrouck; Paul C. Lynch

Download Paper | Permalink

Conference: 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access
Location: Virtual Conference
Publication Date: July 26, 2021
Start Date: July 26, 2021
End Date: July 19, 2022
Conference Session: Manufacturing Division - Workforce Development and Curricular Innovations
Tagged Division: Manufacturing
Page Count: 18
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--36743
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/36743
Download Count: 259

Request a correction

Paper Authors

biography

C. R. Hasbrouck Pennsylvania State University orcid.org/0000-0002-7467-8637

visit author page

C. R. Hasbrouck is a graduate research assistant and doctoral candidate in the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Department at Penn State. C. R. received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Trine University, a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado School of Mines, a M.S. in Industrial Engineering from Penn State University, and is currently finishing a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering. Most of C. R.'s research is for ferrous alloy development and manufacturing process optimization, especially for solidification processes such as metalcasting and welding.

visit author page

biography

Paul C. Lynch Pennsylvania State University Erie, The Behrend College

visit author page

Paul C. Lynch received his Ph.D., M.S., and B.S. degrees in Industrial Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Lynch is a member of AFS, AIST, SME, IISE, and ASEE. Dr. Lynch’s primary research interests are in metal casting, manufacturing systems, engineering economy and engineering education. Dr. Lynch has been recognized by Alpha Pi Mu, IISE, and the Pennsylvania State University for his scholarship, teaching, and advising. He was awarded the Penn State Behrend School of Engineering Distinguished Awards for Excellence in Advising (2018), Teaching (2019), and Research (2020). Dr. Lynch was also awarded the Penn State Behrend College Awards for Excellence in Advising (2018), Teaching (2019), and Outreach (2021). He received the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers Engineering Economy Teaching Award in 2018. Dr. Lynch received the Outstanding Industrial Engineering Faculty Award in 2011, 2013, and 2015, the Penn State Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Alumni Faculty Appreciation Award in 2013, and the Outstanding Advising Award in the College of Engineering in 2014 for his work in undergraduate education at Penn State. He worked as a regional production engineer for Universal Forest Products prior to pursuing his graduate degrees. He is currently an Associate Professor of Industrial Engineering in the School of Engineering at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College.

visit author page

Download Paper | Permalink

Abstract

During and in the decades immediately following World War II, the United States of America had a great increase and influx of domestic manufacturing talent into the national workforce. However, in more recent decades, experienced manufacturing engineers and technicians seem to be retiring faster than they can be replaced. When these men and women leave the workforce, they take decades of knowledge and experience in manufacturing with them. In fact, it has become such an issue that the domestic metalworking manufacturers qualified to produce parts for the Department of Defense is dwindling, and the competition from overseas is threatening to close down what is left of American metalcasting foundries. Metalcasting is one of the most important sectors of both the Pennsylvania and U.S. manufacturing economy. The American Foundry Society (AFS) reports that the metalcasting industry in itself is a $33 billion industry that directly provides nearly 200,000 jobs in the United States. Not only do the foundries in Pennsylvania producing the castings employ workers, but they also indirectly support thousands of jobs at businesses that supply equipment, services, and materials to the industry, as well as at companies that will use the castings. AFS estimates that about 90 percent of durable goods contain cast parts. Metalcasting facilities exist in all 50 states; of the states with the highest number of metalcasting facilities, Pennsylvania ranks second (with 131) only to Ohio (which has 157). It is more important now than ever to recruit talented engineering students into the metalcasting industry for internships and full-time employment. The metalcasting industry is vital to both the Pennsylvania and U.S. economies. The foundry industry is severely lacking the workforce necessary to move the industry forward upon retirement of its aging workforce. As in a number of manufacturing industries across the U.S., the metalcasting industry is experiencing difficult times in hiring skilled technicians, engineers, and managers. This current effort seeks to identify the best ways to attract, train, and retain the future metalcasting industry engineers through positive internship and co-op program experiences. Internships should be both beneficial and positive experiences for both the company sponsor as well as the student interns. To gain an understanding of the “do’s and don’ts” for successful foundry internships, the authors have surveyed both companies with successful, well-established internship programs as well as students who have completed at least one internship at a metalcasting facility. This paper highlights the results of the survey given to Pennsylvania metalcasters with well-established internship programs and former metalcasting interns and It summarizes the best practices for attracting young talent to metalcasting career opportunities. The overall goal of this work is to increase the number of successful, well-established metalcasting internship and co-op training programs that will lead to a future ecosystem of highly qualified engineers to keep the Pennsylvania and U.S. metalcasting industries strong well into the future.

Citation
Format

Hasbrouck, C. R., & Lynch, P. C. (2021, July), Best Practices for Attracting Young Talent to the Pennsylvania and U.S. Metalcasting Industry Paper presented at 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual Conference. 10.18260/1-2--36743

TY - CPAPER
AB - During and in the decades immediately following World War II, the United States of America had a great increase and influx of domestic manufacturing talent into the national workforce. However, in more recent decades, experienced manufacturing engineers and technicians seem to be retiring faster than they can be replaced. When these men and women leave the workforce, they take decades of knowledge and experience in manufacturing with them. In fact, it has become such an issue that the domestic metalworking manufacturers qualified to produce parts for the Department of Defense is dwindling, and the competition from overseas is threatening to close down what is left of American metalcasting foundries.
Metalcasting is one of the most important sectors of both the Pennsylvania and U.S. manufacturing economy. The American Foundry Society (AFS) reports that the metalcasting industry in itself is a $33 billion industry that directly provides nearly 200,000 jobs in the United States. Not only do the foundries in Pennsylvania producing the castings employ workers, but they also indirectly support thousands of jobs at businesses that supply equipment, services, and materials to the industry, as well as at companies that will use the castings. AFS estimates that about 90 percent of durable goods contain cast parts. Metalcasting facilities exist in all 50 states; of the states with the highest number of metalcasting facilities, Pennsylvania ranks second (with 131) only to Ohio (which has 157).
It is more important now than ever to recruit talented engineering students into the metalcasting industry for internships and full-time employment. The metalcasting industry is vital to both the Pennsylvania and U.S. economies. The foundry industry is severely lacking the workforce necessary to move the industry forward upon retirement of its aging workforce. As in a number of manufacturing industries across the U.S., the metalcasting industry is experiencing difficult times in hiring skilled technicians, engineers, and managers.
This current effort seeks to identify the best ways to attract, train, and retain the future metalcasting industry engineers through positive internship and co-op program experiences. Internships should be both beneficial and positive experiences for both the company sponsor as well as the student interns. To gain an understanding of the “do’s and don’ts” for successful foundry internships, the authors have surveyed both companies with successful, well-established internship programs as well as students who have completed at least one internship at a metalcasting facility. This paper highlights the results of the survey given to Pennsylvania metalcasters with well-established internship programs and former metalcasting interns and It summarizes the best practices for attracting young talent to metalcasting career opportunities. The overall goal of this work is to increase the number of successful, well-established metalcasting internship and co-op training programs that will lead to a future ecosystem of highly qualified engineers to keep the Pennsylvania and U.S. metalcasting industries strong well into the future.

AU - C. R. Hasbrouck
AU - Paul C. Lynch
CY - Virtual Conference
DA - 2021/07/26
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Best Practices for Attracting Young Talent to the Pennsylvania and U.S. Metalcasting Industry
UR - https://peer.asee.org/36743
DO - 10.18260/1-2--36743
ER -