High schoolers planning their next step in life have to consider which jobs will be sustainable in their lifetime. Knowing which industries are facing gaps can help them decide where to focus their career plans.

A 2018 study from The Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte forecast that 2.5 million manufacturing jobs would go unfilled in the coming decade due to a lack of trained workers. This is exacerbated by the fact that more than 2.6 million baby boomers are expected to retire from manufacturing jobs over the next decade.

In an effort to help close this workforce gap, we’re offering students at Southeastern High School in Detroit a chance to gain first-hand exposure to opportunities in the manufacturing sector on an ongoing basis through a speaker series called Career Talks with Students.

The Career Talks virtual program launched at the end of 2020 and runs every Wednesday through the end of June. Featuring guest speakers from various roles and departments at Stellantis, the program exposes high school students to the many different facets of working in a manufacturing environment.

“Our goal is to showcase the wide variety of career opportunities available at Stellantis’ manufacturing facilities,” says Caron Recker, Shift Operations Manager, Detroit Assembly Complex – Mack (DACM). “Manufacturing isn’t just assembling the vehicle. We show students that a career in manufacturing can require a variety of different skill sets – from information technology and assembling the electronic components of the vehicle to the HR area and dealing with managing the workforce. There are a variety of solid and interesting career choices for students.”

With the creation of the DACM plant and the planned enhancements to the Jefferson plant, Detroit remains a foothold for our manufacturing operations. Southeastern High School students are exposed to the job opportunities that may lie right in their own backyard.

We are currently the only automaker to have two automotive assembly plants located entirely within the city limits of Detroit. The Detroit Assembly Complex expansion represents a $2.5 billion investment in the city, adding nearly 5,000 new jobs.

In addition to the Southeastern High School Career Talks speaker series, we have partnered with Detroit Public Schools Community District and the city of Detroit to create an Advanced Manufacturing Career Academy at Southeastern High School.

Launched at the beginning of the 2020 fall semester, the Advanced Manufacturing Academy provides students an education-career pathway to the manufacturing industry, enhancing career opportunities and helping to secure the community’s future.