OP-ED: Down But Not Out
Manufacturing Has What It Takes to Rebound
By Mel Schiavelli
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Has manufacturing lost its cache´ forever?
For several months, dating to the beginning of the recession, manufacturing has suffered. The National Association of Manufacturers reports that the United States has lost 2 million manufacturing jobs as a direct result of the economic downturn.
Beyond the sheer magnitude of this number is the effect on the broader business environment. “As manufacturing goes, so goes the economy” is not a stretch. Economists, business, and government leaders keep a vigil on the fortunes of the U.S. manufacturing sector, aware of its wide-ranging impact on the overall economic picture.
However, public perception sheds perhaps the most insightful, honest, and encouraging view of manufacturing—its importance and image, its future, and how it shapes American competitiveness globally.
In the 2010 Public Viewpoint on Manufacturing survey conducted by Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute, more than three-quarters of the American public expressed confidence in the country’s workforce and believe that manufacturing is very important to the country’s economic prosperity.
Today’s advanced manufacturing industry requires a technical workforce with math and science skills. And Americans are bullish on the ability of the workers to meet these needs. Sixty percent of the survey respondents say that the U.S. manufacturing industry can effectively compete in global markets because of advantages in technology use and availability, a skilled workforce, and strong R&D capabilities. Specifically, respondents cited three attributes—work ethic, the right skills, and productivity—that provide the advantage, ahead of non-workforce-related factors such as infrastructure and natural resources.
Offsetting this, though, is the belief that government policies put the manufacturing sector at a disadvantage and dissuade Americans from pursuing production jobs. To wit, less than a third of the survey respondents would encourage their children to pursue a manufacturing career.
This reinforces a sobering fact: Companies are experiencing shortages in skilled production workers, scientists, and engineers. Coupled with the fact that manufacturing supports approximately 18.6 million jobs in the United States — roughly one in six private sector jobs — and the immediate future, at least on the surface, does not bode well.
So, why the discrepancy between the bright outlook for manufacturing and the reluctance to push a career in this field?
Respondents consistently identified government-related factors as the biggest obstacles to the success of manufacturing in the United States, including policies relating to business, tax rates on individuals, and state and federal leadership in this area.
These concerns, fortunately, don’t fuel the stereotype that manufacturing is a dirty and dangerous place for unskilled workers. Respondents believe manufacturing is a high-tech industry requiring well-educated, highly skilled workers.
With this in mind, and considering manufacturers’ recruiting and staffing challenges, there might be no more important time to capitalize on the public’s faith in the workforce by investing in training and educating the workers of the future.
Several efforts are already meeting the needs for a high-performing manufacturing workforce. Harrisburg University of Science and Technology aligns traditional undergraduate degrees with science- and technology-based workforce development. Its curriculum focuses on the core subjects that a growing and changing economy requires: STEM, or science, technology, engineering, and math. These subjects are essential to the manufacturing sector today. Harrisburg University’s educational model has proven successful. Graduates find jobs in their fields of study, enabling companies to fill vital positions while catalyzing economic development.
In addition, the Manufacturing Institute created the NAM-endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System, which targets deficits in education and training. This system creates applied STEM educational pathways aligned to manufacturing career pathways, spanning from high school, through community colleges, and into four-year college and university programs of study. It is designed to increase postsecondary participation and industry-recognized credential completion, enabling workers and students to acquire the 21st century skills necessary for manufacturing careers in today’s global economy.
The Institute also has a Web-based recruitment strategy, “Dream It. Do It,” which provides information on the new reality of manufacturing through targeted messaging, social media, and other innovative engagement strategies geared to change the old manufacturing stereotype.
We know the United States can compete globally. We know that we have what it takes—the “raw materials,” if you will—to succeed. Therefore, the answer to the question I posed at the beginning: Has manufacturing lost its cachet forever?
Resoundingly, no.
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Dr. Mel Schiavelli is president of the Harrisburg University of Science and Technology in Pennsylvania, the only STEM focused comprehensive university between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Additionally, he is a charter member of the Manufacturing Institute’s Education Council, where he provides leadership, counsel and research to ensure America’s manufacturing workforce is properly prepared to compete in the global economy.