October 3 is National Manufacturing Day this year, and Southern Indiana groups are coming together to organize events, mostly centered around job opportunities for students. One of the stated goals of Manufacturing Day is to attract skilled labor to the industry and the Southern Indiana campus of Ivy Tech Community College will host a series of conferences and exhibits to raise awareness of the state's manufacturing sector.

The day's events will take place around the Perkins Technology Center in Jeffersonville, near the Sellersburg campus. Following a 9 a.m. press conference, there will be tours of the Center and its STEM training laboratory. Local manufacturers will also be holding open houses and tours for students and other members of the public.

As this blog mentioned earlier this month, 30.1 percent of Indiana's gross domestic product (GDP) comes from the manufacturing sector, the highest rate of any state, but only 19 percent of jobs are in manufacturing. According to the Manufacturing Day website, a shortage of skilled labor is a nationwide issue for the industry, and one of the main topics the event aims to address. Among the organizers are the National Association of Manufacturers and television network Science.

Indiana's manufacturers have many software resources available from local companies to aid in the smooth running of their operations. Manufacturing ERP software comes with features to plan and track every step of the production process, from inventory to distribution. Sales data can be processed in order to develop an ideal marketing strategy. Job costing and business management software solutions are a vital tool for any manufacturing enterprise.