Like the printing industry in general, the sign industry has been challenged with finding staff, especially production staff, and—also like the printing industry—this is not a new problem. So, to help rectify that problem, every year, the International Sign Association (ISA) hosts Sign Manufacturing Day (SMD) in which participating sign shops host open houses, facility tours, and hands-on demonstrations for students to show them the opportunities that exist in the sign business. This year, Sign Manufacturing Day will be held on October 6, and the nearly decade-old annual event proves to be of great value to businesses that take full advantage of it. (You can watch a free ISA webinar about Sign Manufacturing Day here, in which two sign shop owners talk about their experiences—and successes—participating in Sign Manufacturing Day.)

The ISA provides a free toolkit designed to help sign businesses plan and host an effective Sign Manufacturing Day, and registering with the ISA also gets sign companies listed in the organization’s PR efforts promoting the event, offering an added bit of visibility.

International Sign Association