Apprenticeships, Paychecks and the Next Generation of Makers

Scott Peters on Trades, Talent and the Culture Shift Manufacturing Can’t Avoid

Scott Peters is one of those guests who reminds you why the industry still matters. He came up in the late seventies, learned the trade before CNC was common, built model-kit molds that ended up on Kmart shelves, moved into medical devices where your mistakes affect real lives, and eventually ran a 300-person plant in Guangzhou where “yes-boss culture” smashed into his belief that people should think for themselves.

This conversation isn’t polished. It’s real. Offshoring. Apprenticeships. Pay. Responsibility. Pride. And the uncomfortable truth that young people won’t line up for jobs that pay less than McDonald’s.

Scott argues that culture isn’t a slogan. It’s whether people feel safe enough to tell you you’re wrong and proud enough to stand beside the work they produce. If you care about the future of plastics, the trades or the next generation coming up behind us, this one is worth the time.

What you’ll hear

Scott’s jump from the Marines to an apprentice mold maker after his mother spotted a classifieds ad and pushed him toward it.

What mold shops looked like in the late seventies and early eighties when CAD wasn’t an option and everything ran on skill, graphite smudges and problem solving.

Why seeing his designs turn into products on store shelves changed how he viewed responsibility and pride in the trade.

How managing a Chinese plant forced him to break top-down culture and build a team willing to challenge him instead of nodding along.

Why he thinks shops are losing young talent to Amazon warehouses and fast food, and how transparent pay ladders used to keep apprentices motivated for years.

The generational damage caused by offshoring and why communities still don’t trust manufacturing jobs even as the work returns.

How to build culture that works on the floor instead of in HR decks: respect, honesty, disagreement and shared ownership of deadlines.

Where to listen

Available on all platforms. Search “Manufacturing Culture Podcast.”

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