By GREG PAPANDREW, cofounder of DirectPCB
Why aren’t young men and women entering the printed circuit board industry in the numbers they did in the past?
There is a 13-year-old IPC video of me (with much darker hair) floating around on the internet, promoting the benefits of belonging to the organization. I’m flattered. But really?
I suspect the shrinking and consolidation of the domestic industry, along with the pessimism of many who’ve stayed in it, is at least partly related to the vanishing of our youth membership. We seem to have a harder time today drawing young people into manufacturing careers.
PCB veterans, what do you think? Where have all the young bloods gone? And what can we do to get them back?