Mentorship in Manufacturing
For McMaster University & Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium (EMC)
This project is about turning informal, relationship-dependent mentorship into a structured, replicable process that manufacturing organizations can adopt—so that knowledge doesn‘t walk out the door when experienced workers retire.
Why This Project
Canada’s manufacturing sector is facing a workforce crisis. An aging workforce is retiring in large numbers, taking decades of hands-on knowledge with them, while younger workers entering the industry often lack the guidance needed to develop critical skills. EMC, a not-for-profit organization serving over 18,000 manufacturers across Canada, identified a gap: while mentorship happens informally on shop floors, it is rarely structured or intentional.
EMC needed a training program that could help manufacturers across the country—from small shops to large facilities—build effective mentorship relationships. The goal was to equip experienced workers with the skills to mentor intentionally, while giving new employees a clear pathway to develop the knowledge they need to succeed.
The project was driven by a practical question: how do you turn informal mentorship into a skill that can be taught, scaled, and sustained across thousands of manufacturing organizations?
The Complexity
Experience Doesn't Scale
On-the-floor mentoring happens daily, but it relies entirely on personal relationships and individual instinct — impossible to standardize across 18,000+ companies ranging from small workshops to large factories.
Varied Digital Literacy
Learners are frontline manufacturing workers with widely different education levels and digital fluency. The course had to deliver skill-building at an extremely low barrier to entry.
Abstract Concepts, Concrete Floor
Terms like "employee engagement" and "mentorship dynamics" mean little to someone on a production line. These concepts needed to be translated into tangible, actionable behaviors.
Fragmented Learning Time
Shift work means no fixed schedules. The course had to support drop-in, drop-out learning while maintaining pedagogical completeness.
“The problem wasn’t a lack of experienced workers—it was a lack of a system to pass their knowledge on. I designed a structured mentorship program that turned informal expertise into a replicable process.”
What I Did
Tech stack: EMC Learning Platform, Articulate Rise, Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro
Microlearning Module Structure
The course is broken into 5 core modules: Introduction to Mentorship, What It Means to Be a Mentor, Mentorship in Manufacturing, Mentorship for New Employees, and Developing Mentees. Each module runs 20–25 minutes, totaling ~2 hours of core content plus 1.8 hours of optional material — designed for shift workers to complete in fragmented windows of time.
Scenario-Based Instructional Design
All teaching examples are drawn from real manufacturing contexts — floor inspections, equipment maintenance, quality checks. Learners never need to "translate" abstract concepts; every lesson maps directly to their daily work.
Multimedia Content Development
Produced shop-floor video demonstrations using Premiere Pro to show real mentoring moments in action. Paired with Illustrator/Photoshop infographics that visualize abstract mentoring principles — lowering the cognitive barrier for workers with limited formal education.
Articulate Rise Self-Paced Design
Deployed on Articulate Rise with self-paced, scenario-driven, and practice-oriented interaction design — ensuring learners can complete the full curriculum independently, without a live instructor.
Impact
The program has been integrated into multiple youth employment initiatives across Canada, including the B.C. Youth in Manufacturing Initiative and the WILWorks Youth in Manufacturing Program in Atlantic Canada. EMC has supported over 5,900 student placements and delivered over $36M to the manufacturing sector through workforce development initiatives. Participating employers receive mentorship training at no cost—removing financial barriers to adoption and ensuring that mentors across the country are equipped to support the next generation of manufacturing workers.