Building an Industry for the Future

“Success is not final.” – Winston Churchill

Last month, MSCI held two important events: our Annual Meeting of Members and our first-ever Forge Aheadweekend of networking and education for Millennials and Gen Zers. During  our Annual Meeting, I reiterated to the MSCI community a key component of our value proposition: that we will equip every member company employee, regardless of title or time in the industry, with the knowledge, data, and networking opportunities they need to succeed.

As Churchill warned, success is not final. Humans must continually evolve to compete in a global market — especially when that market is littered with global conflict, unfair trade practices, and policy and political uncertainty.

People are our power. And MSCI partners with our member companies in their efforts to build a prepared, engaged, and diverse workforce.

Forge Ahead is an important part of that effort. A free series of events, Forge Ahead’s purpose is to foster the development of up-and-coming industrial metals professionals. Our first weekend in Chicago attracted more than 200 participants from as far away as Montreal and Alaska. We are grateful to Kloeckner Metals, Nucor, Olympic Steel, Reliance Steel & Aluminum, Ryerson, Steel Warehouse, and Zekelman Industries for supporting Forge Ahead so we could bring it to members for free.

The fact that Forge Ahead participants traveled hundreds, even thousands, of miles is a testament to their excitement about our industry. Yes, the industrial metals sector is graying, and we need to continue to expand efforts to attract new and diverse talent with Forge Ahead and MSCI’s DEI Task Force — two of the initiatives that are at the forefront of our growth efforts — the next generation of metals leaders is committed, however. Why? Because they know the world is built with metal, and that metal has a significant impact on the global economy and on their local communities.

The Millennial generation and Gen Zers live by President Teddy Roosevelt’s edict: “The best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” Younger employees will turn down a job — good paying work — if it does not align with their values.

Our industry offers the chance to work hard at work worth doing. Industrial metals:

• Will build a more sustainable economy: steel is 100 percent recyclable and 75 percent of all aluminum ever produced is still in use because this metal is affordable and easy to recycle.
• Can help improve housing affordability: metal homes are between 30 percent and 50 percent cheaper to build.
• Fuel almost every aspect of our life today: Steel is used in bridges, automobiles, and home appliances. 3,000 catalog grades of steel are currently available. Most find their way into products consumers use every day.
• Provide well-paying, family-sustaining jobs, as evidenced by our brand new compensation survey that will be online this month.

We are excited to help our members show the next generation of workers how industrial metals make life better.

Another way MSCI will help members attract talent is with a new pilot apprenticeship program that we designed with counsel and input from Robert Lerman, one of the nation’s top apprenticeship experts. As Lerman has explained, registered apprenticeships raise participants’ annual earnings by roughly 6,000 and lifetime earnings by $100,000 to $235,000. Our apprenticeship program will help workers earn more while reducing turnover, enhancing industry diversity, and closing the skills gap.

We will release more soon. You can sign up here to receive information about the apprenticeship program when it launches.

I hope you also will help MSCI reach your colleagues.

Many of our industry intelligence products, including Momentum Monitors and the Economic Opportunity and Risk Tracker, are available free to EVERY single person at our member companies. The same is true of our online Community Forum networking space and our free webinars that offer subject matter expertise on issues ranging from safety to unconscious bias to navigating surprise inspections. And, of course, every member company employee has access to our scholarship program, which provides postsecondary education assistance to the children of industrial metals workers.

We also want all member company employees to be aware of our knowledge and learning opportunities. To progress in their careers, employees today need access to educational opportunities that will help them refine skills and learn new ones. We are reviewing our course catalog to ensure MSCI is providing learning opportunities that will help industrial metals employees grow within this industry in this new post-pandemic environment.

At last month’s Annual Meeting we awarded one of MSCI’s highest honors, the Lifetime Achievement Award. Janus, the Roman god of change, is featured on these awards. Janus symbolizes progress from the past to future and young people’s growth to adulthood. With one face, Janus could see into the past. With another, he was able to glimpse the future.

Success is not final. But MSCI will continue to help industrial metals leaders and employees learn from the past to ensure success in the future.