SetPoint: ‘By Chance’ is Not a Workforce Strategy, Paper360º September/October 2025

“I fell into this industry by chance and was unaware of the scope and scale of the pulp and paper industry,” says Westlake Chemical’s Brady Hunnicutt on page 48 of this issue. We asked members of TAPPI’s Young Professional Division to share their career journeys; I’ll bet Brady’s “industry origin story” is one you have heard before. “I’d never even thought about papermaking until I saw my first paper machine...”—“I heard my university’s ‘paper school’ was giving scholarships, so I checked it out and got hooked...”—“I needed a job, and the plant had a help wanted sign. I didn’t know I’d be making boxes for the next 30 years...”

These are all great stories. The problem is that “Well, they’ll find us by accident” is a terrible way to build a strong workforce. From raw mill hands to newly-minted engineers, our manufacturing facilities need people ready to learn, grow, and just plain show up. To get them on our team, we need more than luck—we need strategies.

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