Sean Riley: You are listening to unPACKed with PMMI, where we share the latest packaging and processing industry insights, research, and innovations to help you advance your business.
Hi, and welcome to unPACKed with PMMI. I'm your host, Sean Riley. In this episode, PMMI's Director of Workforce Development, Kate Torrence, shares how PMMI's approach to workforce development has shifted from supporting today's workforce to cultivating tomorrow's workers. She discusses the programs, partnerships, and PACK EXPO initiatives that give students a firsthand look at careers in packaging and manufacturing while also providing companies with access to the next generation of talent. Let's have a listen.
Sean Riley: With all the fancy introductions out of the way, welcome to the podcast, Kate.
Kate Torrence: Thanks, Sean. Good to be here.
Sean Riley: Yeah, I can't believe this is your first time on after all these years that we've been doing this.
Kate Torrence: I know. I'm thrilled to be on it and be able to talk to you a little bit about what's going on.
Sean Riley: Yeah. PMMI has been investing in workforce development for years. It's not necessarily a new development, but what does the work look like now compared to where it started, and how has it evolved as the needs of the industry have changed?
Kate Torrence: Yeah. As you said, we really focused a lot on Workforce. When I started, a lot of it was more catered towards the current workforce, so "What can we do for the existing workforce? How can we up-skill those current employees?" I think it's shifted since I have been brought on board. Our department's gotten a little bit bigger, and we're really focusing on what we can do to track the next generation of employees.
Kate Torrence: We have the Baby Boomers who are retiring. They have that knowledge transfer that's disappearing. So we're really seeing how we can get the new blood in and start learning all of that? Historically, we've really focused on building relationships with those four-year universities that teach packaging, as well as the two-year technical and trade colleges. But just recently, studies have shown that students are kid of starting their career path and starting to figure out where they want to go by age 14.
Sean Riley: Wow.
Kate Torrence: I know, it's super early.
Sean Riley: Yes.
Kate Torrence: So we've kind of shifted the way we do things based on that data point, to do a lot more with high school outreach. So we've really had a stronger focus, I want to say the last two to three years, of students between the ages of 12 and 18, to at least let them know that packaging is an option instead of automatically assuming that they're going to go to NASA or they're going to go work for Caterpillar. We're competing with a lot of those industries. So we focus on that, but because of that, we've become involved in organizations like FIRST Robotics and SkillsUSA, which really focus on that demographic.
Kate Torrence: So we partner with them, but outside of that, PMMI has started doing some things internally to increase programs. We partner with SparkForce to do co-branded summer manufacturing camps for high school students. We have made a bigger focus on bringing high school students, age 14 and up, to PACK EXPO shows. And then our newest initiative is PACK Challenge, which focuses on engineering students and at the high school level.
Sean Riley: Yeah, a lot of those things that you say all fascinate me because as you said with them kind of deciding at 14, the kids doing the robotics at high school age or the PACK Challenge where they're basically putting together a packaging operation or from marketing soup to nuts, to me, it just blows my mind as not something I was even capable of at that age.
Kate Torrence: Same. I'm still not fully capable of it. I'm so impressed with these students as I talk to them.
Sean Riley: Awesome. When a company genuinely wants to build a school partnership but doesn't know where to start, what does that first conversation look like? Whom should they be calling? Who should they be asking for? How do they bridge that connection?
Kate Torrence: I think it's going to be different for every institution. So if you have a high school that you want to start working, they're a STEM school, they have a robotics program, reach out to your employees. Does anybody have a student there? Have they gone there? Do they know somebody who teaches there? I think a lot of it's going to be a grassroots effort. So Sean, that conversation's going to look a little different depending on what type of school you're going to go to. If it's a high school, it's pretty easy to go into a counselor's office, or if you have somebody in your company who has a student there, that's a really easy way to get in.
Kate Torrence: I would say that the college and university levels could be a little bit trickier. Some of the schools have community outreach programs whose sole responsibility is to connect with the community, while others, their instructors have come from industry, and they're the ones you want to talk to. That being said, I would say the few avenues I would recommend are just to reach out to your employees first. Do they know someone from the school? Have they gone to the school themself? Check out the website. What instructor do you want to reach out to? Is there a dean? Is there a specific counselor? And then just attend a career fair. Maybe that's your first point of entry, is, "I don't really know where to start, but they're having a career fair, so let me get into that." But—
Sean Riley: And you guys have some partnerships with schools, too, right?
Kate Torrence: We do. We have education partners across the country. We work with two and four-year technical colleges, as well as four-year universities, so we can help make that connection as well. We can also help bridge a gap that somebody might have. So if you're one company trying to compete with a huge industry in Arizona or Texas, we can come in and say, "It's not just ABC company, it's this whole industry that we're looking to support." That's where PMMI can come in and help bridge that gap as well.
Sean Riley: Awesome, I love that. Okay, so what opportunities exist at PACK EXPO in particular for companies that are looking to connect directly with students, and what does that look like?
Kate Torrence: There are a lot, and I feel every year we keep adding them.
Sean Riley: Yeah.
Kate Torrence: The most popular event that we've been doing, probably for the last 10, 12 years, is The Amazing Packaging Race. If anybody has been on the show floor the last day—that Wednesday—and they see a bunch of students running around in colorful T-shirts, that's what this event is. We take students and partner them in teams with students from different schools, so they're meeting new people, and they're kind of starting to build their network. And then exhibitors have the opportunity to put out tasks to these teams.
Kate Torrence: Maybe you're asking the team to troubleshoot your machine on the show floor. Maybe you have the fun pick-and-place claw machine that you want them to play as a game. Maybe it's just answering a few questions about your company, getting to know them. That's a really great way to kind of start meeting those students. Those are going to be more of the college-age students who would participate in that, and they have the opportunity to win $1,000.
Sean Riley: Wow.
Kate Torrence: So it's definitely our most popular event that we have at the show, and that's pretty easy to get involved in.
Sean Riley: And get yourself exposure with kids who are going to be coming out of school, going into this field.
Kate Torrence: Absolutely.
Sean Riley: Or could be going into this field, right? I'm very familiar with the Amazing Packaging Race because you can't miss them. Again, as you said, running around in their different colored shirts on the show floor. What other things does PACK EXPO have that are specifically targeting students?
Kate Torrence: PACK Challenge. We've been doing this for about three years. This is a high school competition, and we're asking these high school teams to build real-size equipment. This year, we had them make palletizers, so they did a full-size palletizer, and they have been working for the last eight months to build this. At PACK EXPO International, they're going to be showcasing what their work does. They're going to be tested on marketing, operations, and training. They're going to do an (Factory Acceptance Test), so this is a real-world application for these high school students that anybody can stop and see, talk to the students. These are really going to be the students going into education to be the future workforce.
Sean Riley: How about companies that are looking to turn a student visit at PACK EXPO into something that leads to a longer-term relationship like that? What are they doing differently, or what can they do differently?
Kate Torrence: Yeah, I don't know if a lot of exhibitors know that we have a Workforce Pavilion. That is where we—I think this year we have 19 schools that have packaging programs, mechatronics programs, those types of programs that our industry's looking to hire from. We have those schools, the instructors, the students—they're there promoting their program. So, walking over to the pavilion, which is going to be in the West Hall in Chicago this year, and meeting those instructors, building that relationship, and following up, saying, "Hey, we really want to build a relationship with your school."
Kate Torrence: I know that specifically, Barry-Wehmiller built a relationship with Clemson, and then they took a bunch of the Clemson students over to their booth. So then they met the students there and said, "Hey, come look and see what we have at our booth." And that kind of started building another relationship. And then, since they have a facility near Clemson, they were able to bus some students to their actual plant. And so that just started building a long-term relationship with that school and those students.
Sean Riley: I love that, that's great. To kind of put a button on this, how can companies keep that momentum with schools going after the show? The show is over now. So now we've told them about the workforce pavilion, they've gone to the Workforce Pavilion, and they've kind of touched base there. How do they keep that momentum going?
Kate Torrence: I would say treat it like a sales lead. It's so important to follow up. So just as you would with a sales lead from your booth, send a follow-up. Say, "Hey, we're interested in..." Maybe a student dropped off a resume at your booth, and you didn't know who it went to or the right person, but make sure it gets to your HR. Say this student was interested. I think that crucial follow-up—and it might not be as important right now as a sales lead—but in the future, when you're looking to hire that specific role, it's going to be very important.
Sean Riley: Yeah. I think it is as important as a sales lead because you need to fill these positions, or the job's literally not getting done.
Kate Torrence: Yeah.
Sean Riley: I can't thank you enough, Kate, for taking time out of your day to come on here and kind of bring us up to speed on what's happening with the Workforce and the programs that PMMI is offering, so thanks again for coming on here, Kate.
Kate Torrence: Of course, my pleasure.
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