Business View Magazine - Sept 2023

141 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 9 CAL I FORNIA MANUFACTURERS AND TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIAT ION President and CEO Lance Hastings says, “Among the business community, CMTA is the only trade association that’s focused solely on manufacturing, and we are recognized as a leader in that space. Manufacturing is such an important part of the California economy, that it’s important that the sector is represented well. We work on behalf of our members, who range from small, medium, and large manufacturers, trying to create the environment for them to do business in California.” Reshaping the Narrative Since 1918 CMTA has made advocacy a priority, both in the legislative environment, but also with the governor and the regulatory body. Today the organization is working to broaden its reach, working on workforce development initiatives, and expanding communication with members. “What I’ve been trying to do in the last four years is to really broaden our reach, working more closely with our local manufacturing organizations, workforce development, to make sure that our members have employees well into the future that are trained and ready and able to come into the sector, and really offer much more to our members than just the advocacy,” Hastings explains. The addition of Ananda Rochita, as Vice President of Communications, has played a pivotal role in the evolution and amplification of CTMA’s communication strategies. “Social media has been a great avenue for us, because not only have we been able to reach out to manufacturers directly, but also some of those younger generations, as well as some of our legislators who follow us on various different mediums from YouTube shorts, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, we’re pretty much on all different platforms,” Rochita reports. The organization has also put an emphasis on in-person events, providing opportunities for face-to-face interactions, which is something members missed during the pandemic. A Women Making California event was held on International Women’s Day in March of 2023. “We brought together our different members, and Blue Diamond, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed, and Boeing were all there to interact with some of the younger generations that were interested in manufacturing.” Rochita relays that CMTA is also working to address the inevitable ‘silver tsunami’ that will see gaps in the workforce due to the large number of people retiring over the next few years. “We are trying to figure out who will be our next welders, who will be our next manufacturing leaders,” she acknowledges. “Manufacturing is an opportunity. Some of these businesses are actually paying for education too. So, we’re educating parents and students that you don’t have to go through that four-year traditional degree, that there are other options out there.” Coming out of the challenges posed by COVID, CMTA is seizing the opportunity to reshape the narrative around manufacturing, highlighting the potential for quality Lance Hastings CEO and President