What’s your roadmap?

This month’s infographic (page 10) offers just a snippet from “Revitalizing America’s Manufacturing Workforce: A Manufacturing USA National Roadmap” – a report commissioned by the Office of Advanced Manufacturing (OAM) at NIST, framing its support of scaleup and coordination efforts across the Manufacturing USA network, of which there are 17. By detailing the network’s priorities and shared interests of these institutes, the goal is to drive initiatives that grow the advanced manufacturing workforce to fill high-quality jobs.

I’ve covered the lack of skilled workers in previous columns and the U.S. continues to face a shortage. Estimates from the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) indicate that by 2030 an additional 4 million manufacturing jobs will have been created, but half of those will be unfilled, for two reasons. First, employers can’t hire enough entry-level workers and second, they can’t find qualified workers to fill mid-level jobs that require some amount of technical training and skills.

I believe part of why employers can’t find qualified workers at the skill level needed is the demise of vocational education in high schools and the push toward 4-year degrees. When I was in middle school, I had to take a shop class where we learned woodworking and metalworking as well as electrical wiring. It was basic skills, using wood routers and metal-bending equipment, and every student made a house address sign (I still see some when I drive through my childhood town). Additionally, we learned how to make an electric extension cord. Those basic skills made me comfortable to this day using power tools and working on electrical things around the house.

All three of my children attended Camp Invention as youngsters, one did two years in the automotive technology vocational program at our local high school, and another one took a week-long summer 3D printing class. No, my children didn’t follow any of those paths I exposed them to, but some of their friends did.

It’s great to see these opportunities coming back into the schools so they can spark something in students, because the manufacturing sector is growing and advancing, offering well-paying jobs for those with the skills or the interest to learn them and advance in the manufacturing field. Having that roadmap ahead of them in high school potentially leading to interesting, lucrative careers in manufacturing is something we need to continue to foster.

As the OAM states in the report: Alleviating a manufacturing workforce shortage requires an all-of-manufacturing approach, a nationwide convening of manufacturers where educational institutions prepare the current, emerging, and future workforce so manufacturers of all sizes have access to a steady talent pool of workers with up-to-date, industry-relevant skills.

To support a U.S. ramp-up in manufacturing capacity and infrastructure, commensurate investments in building an advanced workforce must be made.

Tell me about the roadmap your company has in place to help fill these advanced manufacturing roles.