manufacturing

First observed in 2011, Manufacturing (MFG) Day started as a grassroots movement intended to draw the public’s attention to manufacturing and its career opportunities and has become an annual celebration meant to inspire the next generation of manufacturers. Since 2012, both public and industry participation in MFG Day activities have grown, as has its overall scope and goals. This year, an effort is being made to reach out to millennials, many of whom have an outdated image of manufacturing, to connect with a younger workforce vital to filling the openings in an increasingly digital manufacturing industry. 

Recognizing the growing need for a skilled workforce in the increasingly digital manufacturing sector, a new report from the public-private effort of DMDII and ManpowerGroup aims to capture the changing technology and business interactions, and the job roles that are having an impact on the sector. The year-long body of work attempts to answer, among other questions, how workforce roles and job structures flex to accelerate the succession of a transforming global economy. By defining emerging roles and skills in the digital manufacturing and design space, the authors hope industry and academia will be able to better align for training and hiring. A full copy of the report, The Digital Workforce Succession in Manufacturing is available for download from: UI LABS at www.uilabs.org/taxonomy.

In a recent report from The Century Foundation, assumptions about the value of a renewed commitment to manufacturing are examined and its importance to the nation’s economic future are reviewed. In Why Manufacturing Jobs Are Worth Saving, the authors review the current status of manufacturing activity, dive into regional data on the role of manufacturing in the economic recovery of communities, and take a look at the quality of the jobs and workforce challenges facing the industry. 

More can be done at the state level to encourage growth in U.S. manufacturing, according to a recent presentation by Robert Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF). In the presentation, held earlier this month at the National Conference of State Legislatures’ (NCSL) summer meeting, Atkinson suggested that there is a role for state policymakers to address each of the four T’s related to sound manufacturing policy: trade, tax, technology, and talent. Citing examples from throughout the country, Atkinson recommended that states support innovative skills programs, including increasing engineering education in high schools, promoting advanced manufacturing training centers, and developing university programs that emphasize manufacturing skills. Beyond skills, additional support could come from expanding R&D tax incentives, creating innovation vouchers, and supporting manufacturing R&D at universities, he said. Additionally, Atkinson recommended promoting the use of programs such as manufacturing 401-k’s and CEO learning networks, and funding matching grants for programs such as the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership, the Manufacturing USA program, and the Manufacturing Universities program. 

In its latest survey of U.S. public perception of manufacturing, Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute found that the majority of Americans surveyed (roughly 8 in 10) view manufacturing as vital to maintaining economic prosperity in the country, but less than 5 in 10 find those jobs interesting or secure, and less than 3 in 10 would encourage their children to pursue a manufacturing career. However, respondents also said they believe future manufacturing jobs will require high-tech skills, be clean, safe and more innovative. That opportunity to build on the positive perceptions already present and dispelling the myths surrounding manufacturing jobs are explored in A look ahead; How modern manufacturers can create positive perceptions with the US public. The authors note that with such findings, “manufacturers could benefit from uplifting current perceptions and tapping into the future vision in order to help attract talent, both young and old, to the industry.”

Restoring America’s competitive edge requires a new approach to managing suppliers, one where all the players are connected, collaborative, and focused on maximizing shared value – a “smart supply chain” – says a new report from MForesight. SSTI spoke with Tom Mahoney, one of the report’s authors and associate director at MForesight, who said that if steps are not taken to move the supply chain in the right direction, or if funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership is eliminated as has been proposed in the White House’s budget, the outlook for manufacturing will be poor. Ensuring American Manufacturing Leadership Through Next-Generation Supply Chains, by Mahoney and Susan Helper, provides insight into the current challenges and opportunities facing supply chain management in U.S. manufacturing and provides recommendations for regaining a competitive edge. 

In a recent post, the Brookings Institution’s Mark Muro raises concerns about the U.S. manufacturing sector’s health due to the leading indicators of slowed growth in both auto sector output and auto manufacturing employment. Muro contends that these slowdowns are driven by plateaued consumer demand and automakers investing billions in developing technologies necessary for electric and self-driving cars. Muro reports that the manufacturing sector is already seeing a slowdown in nearly 40 percent of the U.S. largest metros. Of the top 100 metros, Muro reports 39 have seen manufacturing growth turn negative from January of 2016 to March 2017.

In Making it in America, McKinsey Global Institute researchers contend that for the U.S. to see a revitalization of its manufacturing sector (as measured by global market share), the public and private sectors should treat it as a national priority. However, they warn that the revitalization will not produce a return to 1960s-style manufacturing employment. In the 1960s, the manufacturing sector employed approximately 30 percent of all American workers – it is down to approximately 9 percent today (a 70 percent reduction). The authors contend that due to the changing shape of manufacturing, technology, global competition, and other market demands that manufacturing job growth would only be modest. Most of the job growth potential will be found in other sectors that would benefit from increased economic activity.

In a recent Digest article, SSTI covered research highlighting the oversized role that offshoring multinationals had in manufacturing employment decline from 1983 to 2011. During this time, deindustrialization and manufacturing unemployment had a profound impact on community approaches to economic development. Larger metropolitan areas like Pittsburgh, PA, Roanoke, VA, and Greenville, SC, have received considerable acclaim for their ability to restructure their economies around new and innovative technologies. Less covered, however, are the smaller rural or rust belt regions that are seeking to leverage higher education, community partnerships, an increasingly skilled workforce, and innovative technologies to become more competitive in a 21^st century economy.

While the Department of Commerce (DOC) has incorporated several key practices for enhancing and sustaining interagency collaboration around the Manufacturing USA network, the agency needs to develop a better a governance system that outlines the responsibilities and role of non-sponsoring agencies (e.g. Department of Labor, Department of Education) in the network, according to a new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). The report makes recommendations to DOC with the intent of increasing the involvement of non-sponsoring agencies in helping support the 11 innovation institutes that comprise the Manufacturing USA network. The recommendations include: