Options for a National Plan for Smart Manufacturing (2024) / Chapter Skim
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3 The State of Smart Manufacturing Workforce and Education and Strategies to Address the Challenges
3 The State of Smart Manufacturing Workforce and Education and Strategies to Address the Challenges
Pages 27-55
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From page 27... ...
Based on the documented skills and compe tencies required, which are critical and foundational for a workforce development 1 E. Karp, 2021, "The Case for Raising Manufacturing Wages," Forbes, March 2, https://www.forbes.
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From page 28... ...
Several factors have contributed to the worker shortage and skills gap in manufacturing, and understanding the causes that underlie these shortages requires attention to specific manufacturing issues. Some of the factors include wages, onshoring, industry and career perceptions, pace of technology advancement, aging workforce, and lack of enrollment and pipeline in manufacturing education programs.
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From page 29... ...
Wage growth in manufac turing production and nonsupervisory occupations has fallen short of wage growth in many service sector occupations. According to studies by researchers at the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Federal Reserve Board, the average hourly earnings of production and other nonsupervisory workers in manufacturing in 1990 were about 6 percent above the average for such workers in the private sector; since 2018, they have been about 5 percent below that average.6 Nonproduction and nonsupervisory workers in manufacturing, however, continue to earn a wage premium of about 10 percent relative to these workers in the private sector.7 Many factors potentially contributed to the decline in the average wages of production workers in manufacturing relative to those in other sectors.
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From page 30... ...
Recognizing its contribution to the worker short age, the Manufacturing Institute noted that manufacturers may need to increase wages to compete with other local employers.13 Yet, in view of other countries' comparative advantage of cheaper labor costs that contributed to offshoring by U.S. companies, some argue that the United States should instead leverage its com parative advantages in advanced technologies within the manufacturing sector and offer higher-paying job opportunities in advanced and smart manufacturing.
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From page 31... ...
Manufacturing employment fell sharply again during the Great Recession of 2008 to 2009, and, although it recovered somewhat in the 2010s, sector employment is still about 25 percent lower than at the start of the century.15 The employment losses experienced in the first decade of the 2000s were widespread and unprecedented. With relatively little hiring in manufacturing, some youth found work in other sectors, and the manufacturing workforce aged.
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From page 32... ...
Collaboration between educational insti tutions, industry partners, nonprofits, and governmental organizations is neces sary to provide effective education and training programs (e.g., train-the-trainer, bootcamps, apprenticeships, professional development experiences, short courses, degree programs, and corporate training) that give people the skills they need for positions in modern manufacturing.
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From page 33... ...
Beginning in the 1980s, states began requiring more courses in core academic areas for graduation, and they simultaneously cut funding for career and technical education (CTE) classes.17 The sharp decline in manufacturing employment in the early 2000s and the perception that the jobs were not coming back helped spur a new wave of science, technol ogy, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)
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From page 34... ...
explore and consider manufacturing as a future career are limited or nonexistent.19 Several skills shortages exist in the manufacturing sector, which must be filled to suit the changing needs of the business. The manufacturing sector has some major skill deficits, including the following:20 19 J.R.
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From page 35... ...
Such a national organization could also help identify missing content from extant resource offerings, make recommendations on best practices, and help to avoid duplicative efforts. • STEM proficiency: STEM skills are vital in the manufacturing sector.
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From page 36... ...
manufacturers have had difficulty attracting qualified workers for at least a decade. Thus, the workforce is a major bottleneck, which threatens to worsen, in adopting smart manufacturing technologies and growing a competitive manufacturing sector.
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From page 37... ...
In a pair of recent surveys by American Student Assistance, a nonprofit focused on career readiness, roughly two-thirds of high school graduates said they would have benefited from more career exploration in middle or high school, and 80 percent of high school guidance counselors said their students were "overwhelmed" by decisions about college and career.23 There are national efforts under way with a newly formed nonprofit, the Coalition for Career Development (CCD) , which was established to address many of the issues outlined in this report -- specifically, around the lack of students in the pipeline for rewarding and in-demand careers, in large part due to a lack of awareness or misperception of those careers.
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From page 38... ...
Community colleges offer courses, certifications, and associate degree programs oriented toward manufactur ing jobs. The rapidly evolving technologies in smart manufacturing, however, pose significant challenges in developing courses and keeping them relevant.
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From page 39... ...
Four-year colleges and universities leading the development of smart manufactur ing technologies have identified the need to redesign manufacturing education to embrace smart technologies. In some cases, courses have been developed and offered that bridge the gap between research and practical aspects to implement smart manufacturing technologies.27 In order to sustain the progress made so far, various ongoing efforts should be supported to ensure an adequate supply of in structors who are well trained in these new technologies.
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From page 40... ...
Organizations such as the United States Council for Automotive Research, the Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CESMII) , Manufacturing x Digital (MxD)
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From page 41... ...
These are substantial new opportunities to enhance existing organizations and expand smart manufac turing education within organizations such as tech hubs, industry demonstrations, and AI institutes. Government frameworks and incentives are needed to focus the mission of smart manufacturing and the targeted education that are essential to acceleration and widespread adoption of smart manufacturing technologies.
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From page 42... ...
, etc., has established a number of manufactur ing innovation institutes, which are aligned to the Manufacturing USA network.30 The Manufacturing USA institutes have assumed an important role in education and training by facilitating the expansion and elevation of the manufacturing workforce by establishing robust linkages between industry and equitable educa tion and workforce development systems. Each institute has a specific focus (e.g., smart manufacturing, cybersecurity, digital manufacturing, additive manufactur ing)
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From page 43... ...
These efforts often seek to address underserved communities, ensuring inclusivity and equal access to opportunities. Moreover, collaborative initiatives between the institutes and their industry partners have resulted in the effective training and education of thousands of individuals, including workers, students, and educators, thereby nurturing a proficient and skilled workforce that can thrive in the evolving landscape of manufacturing.31 However, given their research and technology devel opment mandates and current levels of funding, structure, and focus, the laudable efforts of the Manufacturing USA institutes are far from sufficient in addressing the size of the workforce education and training challenge.
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From page 44... ...
Further work by MxD led to the creation of The Hiring Guide: Cybersecurity in Manu facturing.35 MxD Learn is a vehicle for developing a nascent 3-year digital curriculum for training workers as well as for providing 4-week programs to increase manufacturing career awareness among high school students.36 Finding: Due to the rapid development in smart manufacturing, there is a need to evolve and optimize a manufacturing workforce across all levels (from middle school through community colleges and universities to incumbent workers)
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From page 45... ...
• Engage the Manufacturing USA institutes. Manufacturing USA institutes, especially the Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute, Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute, and M anufacturing x Digital, have technical, practical, and educational foci that overlap with smart manufacturing.
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From page 46... ...
Conclusion: To be most effective, instructors at community colleges would need to stay abreast of new developments in smart manufacturing, but "training the trainers" is expensive. The equipment on which students train is also expensive, and equipment donated by companies, while valuable, may not be suitable for all 37 See National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2023, "Workshop on Education, Training, and Workforce Needs for Smart Manufacturing," webcast, https://www.nationalacademies.org/ event/02-28-2023/workshop-on-education-training-and-workforce-needs-for-smart-manufacturing.
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From page 47... ...
This points to concerns with the education system's ability to produce new workers with smart manufacturing skills and for employers to upskill existing talent. Participants in the committee-led workshop described the current lack of infrastructure in the educational system to support incoming talent with the 38 Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CESMII)
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From page 48... ...
When federal or state funding does become available to support curricular development, the lack of any coordination across the country means that all too often the same learning and competency development objectives are pursued over and over. The proposed goal of the National Academy for Smart Manufacturing Education and Training (NASMET; see below)
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From page 49... ...
An effective initiative could take the form of an independent nongovernmental institute or organiza tion, such as a National Academy for Smart Manufacturing Education and Training, that is chartered to drive workforce-related initiatives and support smart manufacturing education and training in the United States. Any effective initiative to address the smart manufacturing workforce needs a centralized education and training resource (which the report will refer to as the NASMET concept)
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From page 50... ...
This effort would be greatly informed by the relevant Manufacturing USA institutes that have a critical collective role and existing strength in mobilizing the industrial base to advocate and communicate the skills and workforce needs. The insights and blueprints from the Manufacturing USA institutes are an important foundational step and framework in building a structured and sustainable national workforce strategy to build the requisite smart manufacturing competencies of today's and tomorrow's workforce.
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From page 51... ...
• Promoting smart manufacturing education and careers via NASMET, in coordination with the Manufacturing USA institutes. NASMET's effect would be to sustain a strong and innovative manufacturing workforce nationwide.
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From page 52... ...
Industry is implicitly included in that it informs academia, government, associations, and consortia on the skills gaps experienced in their efforts to implement smart manufacturing, helping to define the training and curricula that are needed. INVESTING IN THE SMART MANUFACTURING WORKFORCE Integrating humans into the loop and decision-making processes within smart manufacturing systems is vital to address ethical and social implications, while FIGURE 3-1 Timeline for the additional National Academy for Smart Manufacturing Education and Training steps.
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From page 53... ...
Manufacturing processes and requirements are subject to change due to evolving customer demands, technological advancements, and market dynamics. Flexibility enables manufacturers to quickly adapt and respond to these changes, optimizing productivity and customer satisfaction.
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From page 54... ...
. • Option: Improve and modify existing continuing education programs (e.g., National Direct Student Loans could be forgiven if a student pur sues a manufacturing profession)
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From page 55... ...
S t a t e o f S m a r t M a n u f a c t u r i n g Wo r k f o r c e a n d E d u c a t i o n 55 • Option: Create a career exploration requirement in middle school with a federal mandate that covers it; the content delivered should be flexible in terms of career pathways. • Option: Offer tax incentives (i.e., via extension of the advanced manufac turing credits)
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