Tomorrow's Advanced Manufacturing Workforce
Advanced manufacturing increases productivity, enhances economic strength, drives innovation, and provides rewarding career opportunities. But projected shortfalls of as many as 2.4 million skilled workers through 2028 indicate a mismatch between current worker skills (and perception issues about today's manufacturing) and those required by advanced manufacturing.
Developing the advanced manufacturing workforce of the future means:
- Increasing students’ awareness of advanced manufacturing opportunities.
- Training newcomers (including veterans) with the high-tech skills they'll need.
- Providing enhanced training and certification to current manufacturing employees so they can move into new positions.
Here are some of the ways Manufacturing USA — through the manufacturing innovation institutes and the federal agencies that sponsor them, the Departments of Commerce, Defense, and Energy, as well as six additional partner agencies — is engaging in collaborative initiatives with educational institutions and industry to increase interest in manufacturing careers and equip manufacturing workers with the skills they need to support the advanced manufacturing of the future.
Tens of thousands of workers, students, and educators participated in institute workforce programs last year and have been empowered to take on the advanced manufacturing challenges of today and tomorrow.
News
External News
When you think of an Industry 4.0 or an advanced manufacturing career that involves robots, you may picture a factory setting filled primarily with men and barriers separating them from the robots. You may assume that everyone in the room has a Ph.D. You might think of the robot as being dangerous or perhaps being built to replace someone’s job.
W...
LIFT, the Detroit-based, Department of Defense-supported national manufacturing innovation institute, announced it has partnered with Macomb Community College to provide advanced manufacturing training opportunities through the institute’s “Operation Next” program.
“Operation Next” is an innovative, self-paced, manufacturing-focused training and...
In early February, Bender’s eighth and 10th grade students embarked on a month-long journey with FlexFactor, a program provided by Calhoun Community College, Boeing, Mazda Toyota Manufacturing and NextFlex. Over the course of a few weeks, students learned how to combine problem solving, design thinking, technology and entrepreneurship to address...
Lifesaving vaccines and medicines. Working with a team. The ability to grow and develop. You'll find all of this and more in the biopharma manufacturing industry.
While many people think biopharma jobs are for those with science degrees, there are opportunities for workers with educational backgrounds of all types. People from all walks of life and...
Through a partnership with Catawba Valley Community College’s Manufacturing Solutions Center (MSC) and Gaston College’s Textile Technology Center (TTC) comes the birth of the Manufacturing & Textile Innovation Network (MTIN).
The partnership of these two centers is a vision of Dr. Garrett Hinshaw, president of Catawba Valley Community College and...
The COVID-19 pandemic was a wake-up call for manufacturers. As lockdown orders took hold across the country, many factories scaled back or closed, leaving workers unable to return to their jobs.
But while many office staff and managers have been able to work from home, factories have not yet been designed in a way that allows workers on the factory...
Our Network @ Work
Manufacturing Day
Each year the Manufacturing USA network enthusiastically participates in Manufacturing Day (MFGDay) to show students, parents, educators and the public what modern manufacturing looks like and spark interest in pursuing advanced manufacturing careers.