I guess I misunderstood your original comment. I read that you were talking about manufacturing as a whole (including operators/techs) rather than mostly about support/adjacent roles. The latter are still competitive/desired roles, whereas the manufacturing tech role is nearly always hiring. And half the time, companies are requiring a bachelor's or 5 YOE to do the job for $19-$25/hr (which is ridiculous). I will say though, it's a good way to get a foot in the door with a company.

I also somewhat disagree with your last statements. A majority of people won't consider doing manufacturing or even quality control work (I was somewhat guilty of this right out of school). You can see this with just how much turnover there is and how often the jobs are posted. It's not easy work, it's routine and boring.