(Radio Iowa) – The state’s factories are always on the hunt to hire more skilled workers, and Iowa-based window and door manufacturing giant Pella Corporation is now starting its recruitment efforts as early as elementary school. Just in the past week, the company’s headquarters in Pella welcomed tours of local eighth graders, as well as a crop of more than 100 Girl Scouts. Laura Phillips, Pella’s vice president of engineering and procurement, says they’re striving to inspire a future workforce. Phillips says, “They got to tour our facilities, see all of the interesting innovation technology that we have on the shop floor, how cool our factories are.” It’s vital, she says, to find ways to spark the interest and curiosity of young people, to get them thinking about eventual careers in construction, engineering, line mechanics, and manufacturing.

“We got to take them into our testing facility where we put our products under tons of pressure and stress to make sure that they’re going to perform for years and years for our customers,” Phillips says. “They got to push the button where we launch two-by-fours at windows and break them to see how strong they’re going to be, and how they’re going to hold up in the weather and the elements. I really think that they loved every minute of it.” Phillips says the sprawling Pella headquarters routinely welcomes hands-on tours of elementary and middle schoolers from across Iowa, hoping to inspire the next generation of manufacturers.

“We also spend a ton of time with high school students and with colleges,” Phillips says. “We have a really incredible trade apprentice program as well as an internship program where we really create an environment where both high school and college students can come in and see what manufacturing is all about.” As part of the Incredible Women in Skilled Trades event last weekend, she says Pella introduced young Girl Scouts from across Iowa to dynamic careers in various trades while connecting them with accomplished women who are working in the field. “Women are still underrepresented, but Pella is really working hard to make sure that we are tapping into all of the talent that’s out there because there are shortages, in technical roles and in manufacturing roles,” Phillips says. “We really need to bring in the best talent, so we’re always looking for ways to attract and retain broadly and really build out our talent pipeline.”

Founded in Iowa in 1925, Pella Corp now has 21 locations in the U-S and Canada and more than 10-thousand employees.