Episode 10

Soft Skills in Manufacturing

with Nane Lawson

Brought to you by your hosts:

Hannah Brenner
L&D Specialist
Derek Smith
L&D Specialist
With special guest:
Nane Lawson | Bodine Aluminum
Nane Lawson is the assistant manager of human resource development at Toyota’s Bodine Aluminum in Troy, Missouri. She supports Toyota Bodine’s three aluminum casting plants in organizational development and is the Advanced Manufacturing Technician Program (AMT) Advisory Chair for Missouri. As advisory chair, Lawson worked with manufacturers across the region and State Technical College of Missouri to launch Missouri’s first AMT program. She has worked diligently to advocate for this program at multiple legislative, educational and community venues and was a key speaker at Missouri’s statewide Project Lead the Way Conference, as well as the Vision St. Louis – Inclusion Symposium. Beyond the AMT program, Lawson has chaired the Bodine Women’s Leadership Forum to support the education and development of women in Toyota and established multiple training and development strategies across all three company divisions, including the design and pilot of the company’s first formal mentoring program. 

Description

In this episode, we sat down with Nane Lawson, the Employee Development Specialist at Bodine Aluminum to discuss how soft skills training has an impact at her workplace, and in manufacturing as an industry. Here are the main takeaways of this week’s episode:

  • Better communication impacts the entire workplace
  • Leadership buy-in is crucial for developing employee soft skills
  • Balancing technical skills and soft skills makes for a stronger, more work-ready employee

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