Manufacturing does not need a rebrand. It needs a better entry point

For years we have heard the same complaint. Young people are not choosing manufacturing. School leavers do not see it. Graduates often bypass it. People trying to get back into work rarely think of it. Employers want loyalty, but new entrants want options, growth, variety and a sense that their effort will actually lead somewhere.

That is not a branding problem alone. It is a pathway problem.

Modern manufacturing has moved well beyond the old stereotypes, yet the perception gap is still real. Recent Queensland research found that many young people still see manufacturing as repetitive, physically demanding and narrow, even though the sector today is far more digital, technical, creative and commercially diverse. At the same time, national industry campaigns are now actively trying to challenge those outdated views and show the modern face of manufacturing. 

The truth is this: manufacturing is not one job. It is dozens of careers inside one sector.

It is operations, project coordination, procurement, administration, customer service, marketing, sales, finance, quality, logistics, production planning, technology, innovation and leadership. Yet many young people still get shown a very narrow version of the story. Schools are trying to bridge that gap through programs like Queensland’s Gateway to Industry Schools Program for Advanced Manufacturing and school based apprenticeships and traineeships, which already give students in Years 10 to 12 a chance to connect classroom learning with industry and undertake employment based training while still at school. There is also a School to Work Transitions program aimed at students who face greater barriers moving into work or further training. These are valuable steps, but they are still only parts of a larger picture. 

The same applies at the other end of the pipeline. UniSC already offers work integrated learning, internships, placements and industry projects across many degrees, giving students real workplace exposure before they graduate. Queensland also has Career Start, which supports job seekers and people moving into more skilled roles, and the Back to Work program, which helps employers bring eligible unemployed Queenslanders into the workforce. There are also return to work supports aimed at mature age workers and women re entering the workforce. Again, the building blocks exist. They are just not connected in a way that feels seamless for the people trying to step in. 

That is where I see the real opportunity.

What if we stopped treating workforce development as a series of disconnected programs and started treating it like an alliance?

Not just one company demanding loyalty from day one. An alliance of (perhaps even global) manufacturers and industry aligned businesses that jointly develop people, rotate them through real business functions, and give them a broader understanding of how an industrial business actually works.

That model could be designed for school leavers, university graduates, trainees, career changers and people returning to work. It could function like a hybrid of a school based pathway, a graduate internship, a traineeship and a structured return to work program. It would not replace what already exists. It would connect the dots between it.

This matters because the sector is still dealing with capability gaps. The Australian Industry Group’s 2026 outlook shows workforce shortages have eased at the lower skilled end, but higher skill shortages remain stubborn. Queensland is responding through the Transforming Queensland Manufacturing Strategy 2025 to 2030, a new grants program, and the expansion of the regional manufacturing hub network, including the Sunshine Coast Manufacturing Hub, all aimed at lifting capability, productivity and high skilled jobs. 

So the region does not just need more promotion. It needs a stronger front door.

I can see a Sunshine Coast alliance model that gives participants a structured journey across the first stage of their career. They might begin with a common foundation in how manufacturing businesses operate. They would spend time in core areas such as operations, administration, customer support and commercial basics. From there, they could move into a chosen stream such as project coordination, sales, marketing, finance, supply chain, production or quality. The point is not to turn everyone into everything. The point is to give them enough exposure to understand where they fit, where they add value and where they want to grow.

Young people these days seek opportunity, the ability to expand in their careers, travel. There is an element of wanting it all before they have done the hard yards, but if they don’t know what exists in this sector they will never start their exploration here. Show them. But working together as a collective is going to make this much easier and deliver better results than fighting the labour shortage fight alone. 

This is also where people like me come in.

As an executive manager, mentor and trainer, I sit in the space between strategy and people. I understand how businesses work, where capability gaps sit, and what it takes to help people grow into the next level of responsibility. Programs like this do not run well on good intentions alone. They need structure, mentoring, accountability, employer alignment, practical training and someone connecting the dots between education, industry and real world commercial outcomes.

That is the missing layer in many workforce conversations. We talk about attraction, but not enough about transition. We talk about skills, but not enough about confidence. We talk about loyalty, but not enough about creating an environment worth staying in.

A well built alliance program would give employers access to better prepared talent. It would give entrants a clearer runway. It would help parents, schools and universities see manufacturing as a serious career destination, not a fallback option. It would also make room for people re entering the workforce, many of whom bring maturity, reliability and transferable strengths that businesses need. Official guidance for mature age workers already points to the value of experience, communication, resilience and mentoring capability in the workforce. 

Most importantly, it would make manufacturing feel current.

Not because we are trying to make it look flashy for the sake of it, but because we are finally presenting it the way the market now works. Flexible pathways. Real learning. Cross functional exposure. Clear progression. Better management. Recognition. Mobility. Purpose.

That is what today’s workforce is looking for.

Manufacturing does not need to be made sexy again. It needs to be made visible, valuable and worth choosing.

And on the Sunshine Coast, I think we are well placed to build exactly that.