As part of the manufacturing day tour on October 29, students assembled stools cut on CNC routers in the Sofo kitchen in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, near Vancouver.

Monika Soos and her husband Radu Soos, who jointly own Sofo Kitchens Ltd., have long been concerned about custom kitchens for their residence in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, near Vancouver. The counter shop is looking for skilled employees. "As any store owner knows, one of the hardest things is to find qualified skilled workers," Monica said. "As baby boomers gradually withdraw from the labor market, Generation X cannot fill the gap left. The only hope is to attract millennials." But it is not easy. She saw that a survey conducted by Parsable showed that millennials will account for 75% of the global workforce in four years, but they are least likely to choose manufacturing as their preferred occupation. The report also pointed out that this digital-savvy generation wants technology to help them complete their work and increase productivity, but frankly, most manufacturers have not met their expectations, the report said.

Monika, who serves on the board of the Cabinet Manufacturers Association, learned about the Manufacturing Day event in an article in the 2019 CMA magazine PROfiles. The idea is to hold public events related to manufacturing on the first Friday of 2019, especially for students. October. "We want these young people to get in touch with the woodworking industry and see with their own eyes that this is not necessarily a craftsman or an old-school industry, and there are also cool CNC woodworking machines. It is very interesting and can actually be the future of this transaction. Money," Monica said. 

Sofo Kitchens held its first Manufacturing Day event in October 2019 and successfully attracted 25 students to participate. Monica said that one of the students actually returned to Sofo to work in the summer of 2020. Unfortunately, due to COVID, they had to skip a year, but they are committed to making the event strong again in 2021. After receiving blessings from the local health authorities and Worksafe BC, the event was held on October 29 with 20 students and two teachers from Westview Middle School in Maple Ridge. There are even representatives from SKILLS READY-this is an initiative of the British Columbia Construction Foundation.

"Students in the woodworking workshop of our local high school can see how a project goes from the design concept all the way to the finished product," Monica said. "Some of them seem to be surprised by all the automation." The chairs involved in this project can be easily assembled from flat parts cut from engineered wooden boards. Finally there is a game: they must assemble a chair without instructions. The chair was cut on the CNC router with plywood donated by the hardwood company in front of them. 

"It was an interesting experience, 8 of the 20 winners received gift cards," Monica said. Then the students must sit in their own chairs and enjoy their lunch, drinks and biscuits (donated by Blum). 

"The lunch break is an excellent opportunity for students to ask many questions to the workshop staff," Monica said. "The three students seem to be interested in continuing their studies in the woodworking industry and expressed interest in joining the Red Seal joinery program." The Red Seal program is a program that develops common standards to evaluate the skills of businessmen across Canada. 

"The field trip was a success," Monica said. “Students learned a lot and had a lot of fun, and team members can show off their skills and knowledge.” Sofo Kitchens expects to hold this event every year. For more information about Sofo kitchens, please visit sofokichens.com.

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William Sampson is a lifelong woodworker who has been a small-scale entrepreneur and advocate of lean manufacturing since the 1980s. He served as the editor of Fine Woodworking magazine in the early 1990s and founded WoodshopBusiness magazine, which he eventually sold and merged with CabinetMaker magazine. He helped establish the Cabinet Manufacturers Association in 1998 and became its first executive director. Today, as the editor of FDMC magazine, he has more than 20 years of professional woodworking industry experience. His popular "In the Shop" tool reviews and videos appear monthly in FDMC.

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