November 6, 2026
The way young people discover careers is changing.
Career fairs, classroom presentations, and internships continue to play an important role, but today’s students are also learning about companies, industries, and career possibilities through the content they encounter every day. A short video, a behind-the-scenes look at someone’s job, or a post from a peer can introduce them to a career path they never knew existed.
For ICPF, that means thinking differently about how we tell the story of corrugated packaging.
This year, we launched the NextGen Corrugated Ambassador Program, a new workforce awareness initiative that gives students and young professionals with connections to corrugated packaging an opportunity to share the industry through their own perspectives and experiences.
The idea behind the program is simple: If we want to connect meaningfully with the next generation, we can’t rely solely on telling them why we think corrugated is a great place to build a career. We also need to create opportunities for them to hear it from people they can relate to.
Making Corrugated Relevant to a New Audience
Those of us within the industry know how much there is to be excited about. Corrugated offers careers in manufacturing, engineering, design, supply chain, and many other disciplines. It’s an industry built around an essential, sustainable product, with opportunities for innovation, professional growth, and long-term careers.
But for a young person who has never been exposed to our industry, much of that is hidden behind the box they see every day.
The NextGen Corrugated Ambassador Program is designed to change that through authentic peer-to-peer storytelling.
Ambassadors create social media content that introduces their peers and online communities to the people, careers, and possibilities behind corrugated packaging. The content might be a “day in my life” video from a packaging student or intern, a first-person look at discovering a corrugated career they didn’t know existed, or even an unboxing video that turns the focus from what’s inside the box to the design, graphics, and innovation of the box itself.
These aren’t traditional industry advertisements. They’re opportunities to make corrugated more approachable, interesting, and relevant through the voices of people who belong to the generation we’re trying to reach.
Giving the Next Generation a Voice
The program also reflects a broader philosophy behind ICPF’s workforce development efforts.
We spend a great deal of time thinking about how to reach students: what information they need, what misconceptions we need to overcome, and what experiences will help them see a future in our industry.
But reaching younger generations effectively also means listening to them.
What catches their attention? What surprises them about corrugated? What aspects of the industry do they find relatable? How do they describe their experiences to their friends and peers?
By giving students and young professionals room to tell those stories in their own way, we’re not only extending ICPF’s reach. We’re learning more about how the next generation sees our industry and how we can communicate with them more effectively.
ICPF provides ambassadors with guidance, content ideas, and branding resources, while still leaving room for their own creativity and voice. Participants are compensated for their work through a stipend and have an opportunity to build their content portfolios and digital presence along the way.
It’s a model that creates value on both sides: Young people gain professional experience and a platform for their creativity, while our industry gains authentic voices capable of introducing corrugated to audiences we want to reach.
Continuing to Evolve How We Tell Our Story
The NextGen Corrugated Ambassador Program is just one part of ICPF’s broader effort to build awareness and strengthen the pipeline of talent into corrugated packaging.
We’re reaching students through classrooms and educational partnerships. We’re connecting them directly with industry professionals through mentorship and career experiences. We’re providing resources that help them explore corrugated careers. And now, we’re expanding that work idnto the digital spaces where younger generations are already learning, communicating, and building communities.
No single initiative will change how an entire generation views our industry. But each new connection gives us another opportunity to make corrugated visible to someone who may never have considered it before.
Our industry has a compelling story to tell. As the ways young people discover careers continue to evolve, ICPF intends to evolve with them, finding new meaningful ways to make sure corrugated is part of the conversation.
Caitlin Salaverria is president of ICPF.
