The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is preparing to embark on a tour designed to fill an ongoing skills gap in the manufacturing industry by appealing to young students and their parents.

NAM intends to appeal to both students and parents on behalf of the manufacturing industry on a 20-stop tour, called “Creators Wanted,” set to take place across 20 U.S. states from April through September. Along the way, tour stops will include schools, fairs and even presidential conventions where NAM spokespeople can demonstrate the benefits of pursuing a career in the manufacturing industry.

One obstacle keeping students from this industry, according to research conducted by NAM, is that parents view the manufacturing profession as bleak, dirty and with little or no possibility of growth. As such, the U.S. Department of Labor estimates that the industry has lost roughly four million workers since the turn of the century. Additionally, estimates are that the industry stands to face a 2.4 million shortfall in filled jobs by 2028.

To combat this, NAM intends to highlight that manufacturing professions offer average estimated salaries of roughly $88,000 a year, according to 2017 data. Likewise, the tour is designed to tout other benefits of the profession, offering students and parents an interactive and immersive experience that demonstrates how the profession uses modern manufacturing technology like coding, 3D printing and laser tech, to name just a few.

NAM’s goal is to change the negative associations about the manufacturing industry and to reach as many as 250,000 people with that message. Additionally, NAM intends to cut the skills gap by 600,000 workers by 2025, and increase the number of students enrolled in technical and vocational schools as well as apprenticeships by 25% — all of which will work toward NAM’s ultimate goal of building a talent pipeline for the industry.