Manufacturing. The mere word conjures up images of lines of men trudging from a grimy building clutching their lunch pails on the way home from a long, tiring day at work. It's no wonder that so many parents of the day pushed their children toward getting a college degree with the thought that they would better their lot in life by becoming a white-collar worker and earning higher wages. That was the norm for many years.

Well such is no longer the case. Manufacturing jobs in Carbon County are plentiful, and if you have the right skills, they're yours for the taking.But, you say, "Manufacturing is dead in Carbon County!"If that's what you think, you're totally wrong! Did you know there are 66 manufacturing companies that call Carbon County home? Did you know that some of those companies sell their products all over the world?I have spoken with several of these companies, and they all have the same problems … not enough skilled workers in the county to fill the positions they have open. These positions range from welders to CNC operators/programmers to assemblers and electricians. One of our manufacturers is so busy they are looking to add a second shift but are having a hard time finding workers in the county to fill the positions. That's a problem, albeit a good problem to have.So how do we fix this?Carbon Chamber and Economic Development, through the Business/Education Partnership, is currently working with businesses, manufacturers and our five school districts and CCTI to find a way to solve these problems by educating students, parents and guidance counselors as to what is available locally in the manufacturing realm.To assist with this, we are partnering with Jack Pfunder of Manufacturers Resource Center to promote the second annual video contest titled "What's So Cool About Manufacturing."The contest will take place among schools in Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties. Each school district will assemble a team of middle school students and one teacher coach.The teams will first research and then go on site to conduct interviews and film a two-minute video that captures the theme "What's So Cool About Manufacturing?"The teams will be provided with equipment, training and professional editing of their videos. After that, the online voting begins for the public. An awards ceremony for all participating student teams, parents, teachers and companies is held at the end of the project.The project is funded by the Dream It Do It PA Student Manufacturing Video Contest through the Skill-up the Student Pipeline Grant awarded to MRC by Gov. Corbett in March 2013.The purpose of the grant is to address the growing need for skilled workers for the mid- to high-level technical jobs in advanced manufacturing.The grant efforts include raising awareness among students, parents and educators with an accurate depiction of today's manufacturing environments and career choices. Manufacturing jobs have exciting career paths, excellent pay, engaging work environments and are in high demand.So the next time you think manufacturing is dead in Carbon County, think again!