CHICAGO—Manufacturers around the United States recently hosted open houses as part of National Manufacturing Day. The seventh annual event allowed students to get an inside look at how products are designed and built.

MOLINE, IL—Aspiring engineer Sabrina Starkweather, 16, got a closer, and virtual, look at what it takes to enter the manufacturing industry Wednesday afternoon.

For many manufacturers, efforts to build the next-generation workforce feel like a plot from “Mission Impossible.”

A persistent theme in the business press is the presence of a skills gap in America. Thousands of U.S. manufacturing jobs are unfilled because there are simply not enough qualified workers.

AIKEN, SC—Diesel engine manufacturer MTU America hosts an annual Girls Day event at its assembly plant here. The goal of the event is to educate young girls on careers in manufacturing and to encourage their interest in a typically male-dominated field.

While preparing for a recent trip to Ecuador, my wife and I spent hours practicing conversational Spanish. Once we got there, however, it became painfully clear that old dogs couldn’t learn new tricks.

SARASOTA, FL—The Sarasota and Manatee Manufacturers Association is asking local manufacturers to host internships for school teachers in hopes of creating a better skilled workforce.

I’m not an economist, but it’s clear to me that if I were a country, I’d want my economy to be grounded on the bedrock of making.

BETHLEHEM, PA—Robert Bosch LLC and Bosch Rexroth Corp. have awarded four grants, totaling $100,000, to three Pennsylvania colleges to support science, technology, engineering and math education.