The world is changing rapidly as other countries and regions acquire competitive advantages that seriously challenge many aspects of manufacturing dominance. To remain relevant as a manufacturing power house, America needs A Manufacturing Renaissance as outlined by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) roadmap for economic growth and enhanced competitiveness for manufacturers.
Why is manufacturing so critically important to our future? Manufacturing in the United States produces $1.8 trillion of value each year, or 12.2 percent of U.S. gross domestic product. For every dollar spent in manufacturing, another $1.48 is added to the economy, the highest multiplier effect of any economic sector. Manufacturers in the United States are the most productive workers in the world, far surpassing the worker productivity of any other major manufacturing economy, leading to higher wages and living standards.
NAM's Manufacturing Institute noted that at the height of the recession, 32 percent of manufacturers reported that they had jobs sitting unfilled because they could not find workers with the right skills. An estimated 600,000 jobs are currently open in advanced manufacturing, and it is anticipated that 10 million skilled workers will be needed by 2020. The skills gap is expected to take the biggest toll on skilled production jobs, and will likely widen as time passes. In addition, 84 percent of manufacturers surveyed stated that the K-12 school system was doing an inadequate job of preparing students for the workplace.
Our education system has not adapted to the changed priorities around the world — the critical need for more math, physics, engineering, and technical knowledge and skills — resulting in the loss of jobs. While more emphasis on these subjects in China, India and other countries has led to our competitors gaining in employment in manufacturing.
To support the expansion of the manufacturing sector, AME has adopted a new vision for “a manufacturing renaissance driven by people-centric leadership coupled with enterprise excellence.” AME has realigned its strategic initiatives to address the challenges facing a manufacturing renaissance. It is generally agreed on that manufacturing is critical to reviving the economy, but parents typically do not recommend manufacturing jobs to their sons and daughters. One of AME's initiatives is to get parents, schools and students to see “manufacturing as a desirable career path,” again.
AME and its alliance partners, the Manufacturing Institute, Reshoring Initiative, Society of Manufacturing Engineers, American Productivity & Quality Center, Literate Nation, International Reading Association and others are developing a plan designed to align the public and private resources to assist public schools and colleges to produce literate, career-ready citizens. This plan will support the revitalization of manufacturing by re-energizing a world-class educational and training system.
By adopting the Literacy Education for All, Results for the Nation (LEARN) Act, we can reduce the educational deficit and increase the number of career-ready students needed. The Act addresses reading proficiency to ensure that children from birth to grade 12 have the skills demanded in the 21st century: the ability to read for knowledge, to write for understanding and to think critically about what is read. Reading is the foundational skill without which math, science and all education and economic attainment becomes unattainable.
In addition to the LEARN Act, the Roadmap to Education Reform for Manufacturing released by the Manufacturing Institute is a comprehensive blueprint for education reform. It is designed to develop and help recruit the 21st century talent critical for manufacturers to sustain and grow global competitiveness. The report lays out six principles for innovative reform: moving to competency-based education, establishing and expanding industry-education partnerships, infusing technology in education, creating excitement for manufacturing careers, applying manufacturing principles such as lean to reduce education costs and expanding successful youth development programs.
Career Pathways is an example of a successful youth program that reaches out to public schools and their students. This program encourages students to consider a career in manufacturing, and helps prepare them, by using the Manufacturing Pathway Map. Career Pathways provides career readiness skills and more advanced knowledge of the same science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills needed for college or jobs in advanced manufacturing. Having a highly skilled workforce is the lifeblood of any successful company/industry and ultimately, the economy.
This educational and economic recovery will require a public-private partnership second to none to address the challenges for a manufacturing renaissance. Many of the building blocks are in place. The foundational cornerstone for deploying these building blocks is the network of regional consortiums that include members from all facets of the economy.
For example, Newport News Shipbuilding, Capital One, and GENEDGE (Manufacturing Extension Partners) helped cofound the first Virginia consortium, with the goal of bringing organizations together to share, learn and grow as a community of practitioners, and to address issues relating to economic growth and workforce development.
Manufacturers have a plan that focuses on the workforce and the innovation needed for economic growth. This plan puts policy above politics. It sets a path for sustained global competitiveness. These initiatives are the enablers of a manufacturing renaissance to provide the innovative talent and resources needed to lead the designing and building things at home, again!
