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Wanted: Skilled Manufacturing Workforce

Dépèche transmise le 7 juin 2011 par Business Wire

Wanted: Skilled Manufacturing Workforce

DEARBORN, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Even as the most recent reports show a slight rise in unemployment, manufacturers are facing an unusual situation: the inability to find qualified workers.

“The goal is to provide educated, skilled workers to fill manufacturing jobs – middle-class jobs that can support a family.”

And while this is a concern today, it will reach crisis level in coming years.

“As the economy recovers and manufacturing continues to gain strength, finding skilled and educated workers will be the biggest issue for employers in the immediate future and possibly for years to come,” said Mark Tomlinson, executive director/CEO for the Society of Manufacturing (SME) – a leader in manufacturing workforce development. The concern over the skilled worker issue was sited by many presenters at the SME Annual Conference this week in Bellevue, Wash.

The reason: manufacturing has evolved from the labor-heavy, smokestack-spewing industry of the 20th century to an advanced manufacturing industry reliant on knowledge workers with high technical skills who are more apt to work in a clean room on high-tech equipment than in a Henry Ford-esque factory.

With the looming retirement of 76 million baby boomers, declining graduations from engineering and technical schools, and a lack of interest in science, technology, engineering and math courses (STEM) in middle and high schools, today’s difficulty in finding qualified workers is on course to become a national economic and security crisis.

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers is working with partners in industry, education and government to help prevent this impending calamity.

SME builds the skills of the incumbent worker with its rich resources of manufacturing knowledge, professional certification, on-line and in-person training and events, and member-to-member interaction.

SME also supports competency-based education that is validated by assessments and industry standards through programs such as the NAM-Endorsed Skills Certification System.

Through its Education Foundation, SME is inspiring and engaging K-12 students in the STEM subjects in order to build the pipeline of skilled workers for the future.

"The goal is to provide educated, skilled workers to fill manufacturing jobs – middle-class jobs that can support a family."

MANUFACTURING EXPERTS AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS

About SME:

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) is the premier source for manufacturing knowledge, education and networking. A 501(c)3 organization, SME is a leader in manufacturing workforce development issues, working with industry, academic and government partners to support the current and future skilled workforce.