For students entering college and for those already enrolled, contradictory messages abound in what type of future they will face upon graduation. Politicians talk about college costs and the crippling debt and lack of jobs that some students face versus the need for college at all. American businesses complain that they cannot find enough skilled workers despite the record numbers of graduates looking for employment. Are you seeing the same skills gap in your companies? What can be done?
To help make students work-ready, some companies have partnered with universities to develop courses that could lead directly to careers. IBM, for example, has a 70-year history of partnering with universities to train specialists. And, starting even younger, GW Plastics, for example, began a “School of Tech”, where local high school students are bused to the company’s facilities for a semester-long course focused on manufacturing technology.
The government is creating nine public-private consortiums of companies, nonprofits, and universities called Manufacturing Innovation Institutes with unique technological concentrations to boost advanced manufacturing.
Some companies, like TRUMPF Inc., operate training centers approved by the state specifically to train eligible Veterans Affairs educational beneficiaries, while others, like Amada Miyachi America, donate equipment and supplies to nonprofits like Workshops for Warriors that provide vocational training to veterans.
One of my neighbors has a son who will be graduating high school this year with no particular academic interests or achievements. He’s mildly interested in botany but has no real idea of the scope of science needed for that major.
Students considering college now may not realize that manufacturing is not dead in this country, despite reports to the contrary, and many companies have chosen to reshore due to a rapid increase in labor rates abroad, lengthy product lead times, ensuring quality control, and protecting intellectual property.
In survey after survey, readers told us that Manufacturing is the #1 topic they would like to see Medical Design Briefs cover more extensively. So we are introducing Medical Manufacturing and Fabrication—a new demographic supplement to be bound in to the April and October issues that will be targeted to subscribers involved in manufacturing, production, and quality control. Medical Manufacturing and Fabrication will cover more of the tools and techniques companies are using to create the latest medical components and systems. If your company would like to submit an article, please contact me.
