More than 130 area high school students, parents, school officials and other guests visited Morbark for the company’s career-focused Manufacturing Day event. Titled “March into Your Future with Morbark,” the event featured a tour of Morbark’s factory and presentations by numerous employees explaining their duties and personal career paths in manufacturing.

Manufacturing Day, officially the first Friday in October, is a coordinated occasion during which U.S. manufacturers open their doors to demonstrate the potential of modern manufacturing and foster interest in the wide range of manufacturing career opportunities available upon graduation from high school, trade schools or college.

“Today’s manufacturing is not your grandfather’s or even your father’s manufacturing,” said Morbark President Jim Shoemaker Jr. “Modern manufacturing is highly technical, requires a skilled labor force and provides well-paying careers with diverse opportunities for advancement.

“Manufacturing is vital to a strong national and local economy,” Shoemaker added. “But we’re facing a skills gap, with as many as 60 percent of skilled production positions in the U.S. going unfilled, combined with misperceptions about what manufacturing is. That’s why it’s important to have events like this, and show young adults, parents and school personnel what manufacturing is really like and what career opportunities exist in manufacturing.”

For more information, visit www.mfgday.com.