Following its recent participation in National Manufacturing Day, which saw member companies in Canada and the U.S. open their doors to students, the International Sign Association (ISA) is continuing efforts to promote careers in the industry. In October, ‘Sign Manufacturing Day’ brought more than 200 high school, vocational school and community college students to eight ISA member companies’ 12 locations. The event represented a new partnership between ISA and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) to improve young people’s perceptions of manufacturing generally and signmaking specifically. As reported earlier, the only Canadian business to participate this year was Mattatall Signs (pictured, left). Its president, Robert Mattatall, sits on ISA’s affiliated association sign council. The company now says 25 local Grade 10 students toured its facility in Dartmouth, N.S., learning about in-house sign manufacturing and installation processes, as well as office business functions. They toured the shop floor, art room and laser/photopolymer room (pictured above). The event allowed the host companies to showcase and explain the diversity of career options within the sign industry. Some began to discuss internships and co-op placements with participating local educators, as the program’s goal is to reach out to potential employees and address an anticipated skilled labour shortage in the near future. “We know finding skilled workers is going to become increasingly difficult,” says Lori Anderson, president and CEO of ISA. “The demographics are not on our side; the typical highly skilled manufacturing worker is 56. Reaching out to the next generation of workers is extremely important.” Afterwards, ISA related an online video (see below) showcasing the event’s success and inviting more of its members to participate as hosts for the next Sign Manufacturing Day, which will be held on October 3, 2014. Those interested should e-mail info@signs.org.