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March 1, 2005
Restoring the Luster of Manufacturing
Students are shying away from manufacturing because they think that good manufacturing jobs are fleeing the country. And the timing could not be worse as a worker shortage looms. Fortunately, one prominent group is setting the record straight:
The Washington, D.C.-based National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is setting out to convince students that manufacturing is a promising career. Through its recently launched publicity campaign called "Dream it, Do it," the group is hoping to spark the interest of high schoolers and undergrads and to encourage them to receive training at an earlier age in the skillsets required for a manufacturing career.
To accomplish its objectives, the advocacy group has to put a positive spin on some grim numbers. While a recovery is now afoot, the manufacturing sector has shed some 2.9 million positions since July 2000. Many of these jobs have gone to Mexico, China and other countries that offer lower labor costs. Not to worry, some industry observers say, the jobs that have fled involved manual labor. What's stayed in the country are positions requiring more intellect and reasoning--in short, higher-level jobs. "We know that the good manufacturing jobs are out there," says David Ritz, director of admissions for Louisville Tech, to Business First of Louisville. "But I don't think potential students realize that these jobs are out there." For example, in his school, students are much more drawn (by a nearly 3 to 1 ratio) to computer graphics than to mechanical engineering.
NAM's publicity campaign is especially timely because of the sector's aging workforce. In fact, by 2020, NAM expects 10 million job openings in the sector. According to Beth Solomon, associated director of media relations for NAM, this potential shortage of manufacturing workers represents a dire situation. A lack of qualified workers in the U.S. will spur companies to transplant even more jobs to other countries, she says, crippling the manufacturing sector and the U.S. economy as a whole. "A country of Wal-Marts just doesn't cut it," she tells Business First of Louisville. "You can't have an economy that doesn't make things. It just doesn't work. Plus, we have enormous technological and geographic advantages over anywhere else in the world."
And it's about time we put them to use. To address this shortage before it occurs, NAM is encouraging students to develop the essential skills at a younger age and getting manufacturers to provide internships to students. It's hoping to recruit the manufacturing workforce of tomorrow--people who are creative, analytical and able to fix problems.
Source:
Groups Aim to Counter Negative Ideas on Manufacturing Careers
Brett Corbin
Business First of Louisville, February 14, 2005
louisville.bizjournals.com/louisville/stories/2005/02/14/story3.html
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40 CommentsMy company manufactures a product 100% American made. It's a new product, in fact a new concept in ladder accessories. I've heard American made products are sought after. Not so! 1st comes the cost of the product to the buyers. 2nd place, but initially looked at. What your product does to enhance what ever came before it. I really don't know if buyers notice where the product is manufactured?
March 1, 2005 5:56 PMIf you haven't already contacted them, Duluth Trading Post has a neat collection of things for working folks (tradespersons, especially). You might be able to sell your product to/through them.
March 2, 2005 7:21 AMVery interesting article and I agree 100% with the conclusions.
March 2, 2005 8:13 AMThe market is a two edged sword. We want manufacturing jobs in the US, however the cost to manufacture (which includes the cost of government regulations) drives costs up, making products more expensive. US Consumers then demand lower priced products which opens the door to foreign competition or the need to move manufacturing to "LCRs" (Low Cost Regions).
Business leadership demands more productivity and then lacks the patience, commitment or understanding of market forces if results don't happen fast enough. Wall Street money managers hammer companies that don't take the steps they think are needed to maximize the company's "value" and yet these are people who may have "studied" an industry however they have never run a company and demonstrated their business acumen.
It's a world of "beans" and the money people have to make sure they're in the right pile. Tough challenge in a "capital intensive" segment of the economy when we're use to immediate results.
I believe it can be done, however the timing is the hard part. It's never fast enough.
March 2, 2005 8:43 AMVery good article. Thanks for promoting the positive forecast for US manufacturing. It can be a self fulfilling prophesy if all we hear is negative media about US manufacturing jobs going away. We all need to hear encouragement that our sector of the economy will still be viable and healthy in the future - even guys like me who run a manufacturing plant! We CAN compete!!
March 2, 2005 9:19 AMAdvise...Manufacturing-Learn Chinese, Engineering-move to India, Assembly-move to Mexico. Yes these are very well know issues that plague all Industries every day. What we need here in the US is to start doing things smarter.
This needs to be sold and executed at the WORKER level and not at the Manager Level, unless we plan on losing all our jobs overseas.
I've worked in industrial safety and health sales for 24 years and have seen first hand the slow deterioration of American Manufacturing. When I first started in 1980, the Seattle industrial section was jam-packed full of manufacturing that had been around for over 50 years: ships, copper, batteries, vanilla, plating, steel, and of course the ever present Boeing. Now it's whittled away to the port area being more valuable to store the cars and containers full of products that are manufactured overseas. You can call it the "Walmarting" of America. You can go into any retailer (not just Walmart) turn over any product and see the words, "Made in China". It's very hard to find and buy products that are manufactured in the good ol USA.
March 2, 2005 11:04 AMStudents should not be given this line of crap. NAM should not be convincing ANYONE that Manufacturing is a promising career, and that students should be focusing their efforts in this regard. THIS IS BULLSHIT! I spent 23 years in manufacturing, and IT'S GONE ! A THING OF THE PAST !
NAM should not be trying to steer young pepole, or trying to give them a false sense of hope for something that will end up leading to nothing.
NAM is doing this for their own personal benefit. A promising career...MY ASS !
March 2, 2005 12:10 PMOh by the way, if anyone has not, try and find the December 6, 2004 BusinessWeek Magazine. The cover story is titled perfectly..."The China Price" READ THIS ARTICLE. It spells reality out. End of story... Dave
March 2, 2005 12:22 PMI own my own invention development company, and I can tell you that creating the new products for the future is a small part of the process. Companies who sell the products that I create dictate who is going to make the product unless I put my foot down and say I want it made here. This will take goverment input to get companies to make our ideas.My first product I developed is being made in the U.S. and it comes down to having all the right pieces to keep it here. Look out Doubting Thomas out there who think we can't make products better. The next revolution is going to pass by!
March 2, 2005 12:58 PMThe people who wrote this article must be referring to a Manufacturing sector that I am not familiar with.
Manufacturing jobs have been, still are and will continue to leave this country.
We are part of our own problem because we demand lower costs for everything, and because corporate greed demands higher and higher margins to satisfy the stock holders.
Unless and until our government does something to help ease this export of jobs, and to make the playing field even, we can expect to see the continued erosion of Manufacturing Jobs in America.
All kinds of Manufacturing jobs are being exported, production, engineering, purchasing, etc. Comments about products made in America are generally in reference to small local companies, companies with very specialized products, military and medical fields. Global Companies are and must export jobs to remain competitive in the Global Market.
This is a problem that our government must react to for this erosion to stop. I don't know what the answer is, but the USA cannot exist with a service industry type of economy. Until it starts costing companies to export jobs, there is no reason for them to stop sending our work to Mexico, China, India, Pakistan, etc. Where next - Iraq, Iran???
The authors of the article need to get down to earth and talk to the little guy who has been downsized and outsourced and get out of the "Lilly White Tower" where he is obviously not doing his homework. Talking to CEO's and Plant Managers does not tell the story about the loss of American Jobs All you really have to do is look at unemployment numbers in the manufacturing sectors and not look at overall unemployment which includes a huge number of lesser paying service jobs. This doesn't cut it for our country.
Been there, done that, service jobs don't provide the economic base for a vibrant and growing economy.
The author states that all we are loosing is manual labor, what or who does he think is the primary balance of Made In America, not the professionals, but the manual labor work force. These are the people who have been most effected so far, and they are the ones that are losing the $10 to $20 per hour jobs so far. Now the professional jobs have started to move and will continue to move as well. There is nothing wrong with manual labor, not everyone can afford college or has the desire to go to college, that is primarily our manual labor workforce. $10 to $20 per hour vs. $6 to 10$ for service jobs, you do the math.
Corporate management is not only moving manual labor and now professional employment, but they are also moving the technology that is being developed in the USA. Our Corporate "Generals" are building State of the Art facilities and equiping them with the most up to date equipment, processes, etc, and letting the USA fall by the wayside. What will it take to reinvest in America for this Technology. Does anybody think that Corporate AMerica is just going to abandon these facilities in the next few years, hardly. Even if we make changes immediately the reality is that corporations will not move again for many years due to this technology and capital expansion in these Low Cost Regions.
Everyone in America should be concerned about this real job erosion, and don't let people like this author or groups like NAM "snow" you into believeing that manufacturing is rebounding in the USA. Until something forces that change, it won't happen.
The big questions about this entire problem are;
Why isn't our Governmant doing something to stop it??
Why aren't our labor groups who supposedly stand up and fight for labor rights doing something to stop it??
Where are all the people who stand for Made In America??
March 2, 2005 1:14 PMOnce we can admit that our economy has been based largely on fictitious demand, it is easy to see the answer to the manufacturing problem. It is as obvious as the nose on your face.
To think that our high school kids could find enjoyment in making something is naive.
March 2, 2005 1:53 PMAs a student in a university manufacturing engineering program, I can only comment on what I have seen in the past few years: There are more postions available for both management and safety in manufacturing graduates than there are students graduating. This has been happening since I entered the program, and it is still happening. Like the article said "...some industry observers say, the jobs that have fled involved manual labor. What's stayed in the country are positions requiring more intellect and reasoning--in short, higher-level jobs..." Maybe I'm just at a good school, but the jobs are there if a young person wants to work for it. Good jobs don't come easy, nor should they. I like the fact that when I graduate, companies will be competing for me.
March 2, 2005 2:13 PMWhy isn't our Government doing something to stop it??
Give me a break! What do you want the gov to do? Be your daddy? The gov put us where we are...
them and the people who voted for them. Probably
people just like you. Sissy little liberal democrat. It's your fault!!!
Why aren't our labor groups who supposedly stand up and fight for labor rights doing something to stop it??
Yeah right- Liberal Labor Groups- See
above comment. I can't see why you guys keep paying those dues year after year. You guys paying those dues are helping to keep things just
like they are. Are you awake yet?
Where are all the people who stand for Made In America?
They live in the RED states. Slightly over 55%.
The rest continue to vote liberal-big gov-tax and spend...
"corporate greed" "satisfy the stock holders"
"Talking to CEO's and Plant Managers does not tell the story"
Yeah right! What's wrong with corp greed? The
people with all the money "you refer to as rich"
create the jobs. Ever worked for a poor man?
Look, America has to be the best place to do business. If there is too much regulation and too
much tax, Business will go where it's cheaper.
Simple as that. Hey, I'm not defending the situation, I'm an ME, and right now my job is on
the chopping block. You know where it's going?
India. There, you can get a Master's ME for 6K a
year. I can't compete with that. Can you? As far as I'm concerned, it's your fault and people like you, not mine, but I have to deal with it.
I'm looking to make myself more competitive in
everyway. Constant learning curve. More skills-
different skills- work for less money. What are you doing?...besides crying...
Erick
Erick, for an ME your views seem quite simplistic. I agree with the maxim of personal responsibility, but government is not without its responsibility; that being to maximize opportunity (by that I don't mean providing jobs). It's Governments job to insure we have the opportunity to pursue whatever we desire, as long as it doesn't infringe on others, in whatever arena we choose. However, the Nanny State chooses to enact laws and taxes that discourage innovation, escalate the cost of living, and inhibit the general desire of individuals to strive. The promise of Liberty has been the magnet drawing the world's talent to us. With more government comes less liberty, so why will they bring their ideas here.
Does that give you an inkling of what government should do?
I have to agree with most of the comments above and disagree with NAM's assessment. Although the manufacturing sector affects many varied markets each with its own characteristics (i.e. auto parts vs pulp and paper vs plastics etc etc), the bottom line for any manufactured part is 1) price and 2) quality. China and India can clearly beat the US when it comes to price due to cheap labor, and are quickly catching up quality and technology wise. Any engineering school in India and China are just as good as the average engineering school in the United States. As a manufacturing engineer, I am constantly striving for better productivity and cheaper ways of doing things, but we still need to pay our workers a decent wage.
Some manufacturing will always stay in the US (highly specialized, quick turnaround markets), but having "Made in the USA" on everything is a thing of the past.
March 3, 2005 1:15 PMThe outsourcing revolution has helped by making the manufacturing costs the problem of the contract manufacturer. The principal Company often outsources the manufacturing, sighs a sigh of relief and ignores product development including material and methods which reduce manufacturing costs. The subby is then asked to reduce the cost or lose the job to China.
March 4, 2005 12:48 AMManufacturing is currently going throught a transformation. Not only in the US, but world wide. For a long time the manufacturing profit margins were confortable enough to allow the administration to ignore inefficiencies.
In the current competative labor market, manufacturers have no choice but to concentrate on all inefficiencies and new techniques for manufacturing and administration.
The Fat days are out, and the lean days are in.
March 4, 2005 12:16 PMif you want to manufacture you have to sell not only here but abroad. you have to be innovative & and quality concerned. have you driven a ford since the massive recalls? most of the labor force will take pride in there company and product. iI is the greed of the share holders and owners along with the arrogance of managers and upper echelon employees that prevent improvement in product designs and processes. if you were to form a corporation to manufacture an item in the u.s. start your employees off at a standard labor cost of say 10.00/hr with an internal employee organization you could compete witn ford ,ge,RCA.mitsubishi. sell quality products in a high volume at a minimal profit. 10 dimes make a dollar but id rather have 1,000 pennies.If the institutional and market investors along with government agencies were to support this type of initiative we would have balanced trade lower taxes fewer public assistance programs.
March 6, 2005 10:28 PMWell here it is from my point of view .I worked in the plastic industry for 21 yrs.A plastic engineer tool&die maker. I have 3 yrs of mechanical engineering and a journeyman tool&die maker. I was at the top of my field .I did whatever it took to make the product in a timely manner . Quality it was to the print! I was innovative, always looking out for the best interest of the company and costumer.After I lost my job there were NO others even comparable,they ALL wanted to pay 10 -13 dollars an hr. When I started looking for a job there were none that even came close to what I was making , for someone who went to college for 3yrs and 8000 hr on the job training.NOT ME! So I went to work for a company , driving a car doing pick up delivery for $14.hr.,and as far as my kids they are strongly encouraged to take classes in the medical field or computer tech. Two careers that will ALWAYS be in demand !
March 8, 2005 11:59 AM
