On Tuesday, I attended one of the events announcing the release of the Report and Recommendations of the Governor’s Manufacturing Advisory Council (“Council”). The Council, comprised of 24 members from a diverse cross section of manufacturing interests across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, was formed by Governor Tom Corbett in November 2011 to focus on the current and future state of manufacturing.
The full report can be downloaded here. The Report highlighted several key facts that demonstrate the significance of manufacturing in Pennsylvania:
- Manufacturing employs 574,000 Pennsylvanians accounting for 10% of the total workforce.
- Average annual compensation in manufacturing is $64,913 which is 44.2% higher than the non-manufacturing sector.
- Manufacturing accounts for 70% of all research and development expenditures in Pennsylvania.
- 98% of all manufacturing firms in Pennsylvania employ fewer than 500 employees, accounting for 75% of the total manufacturing workforce.
- 23 Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in Pennsylvania, including at least 10 primarily focused on manufacturing.
- 82% of manufacturers report a serious or moderate skills gap and 74% report that this is negatively impacting their ability to expand.
- 25% of manufacturing employees are 55+ and as of June 2012 there were 7,639 manufacturing openings.
The Council found that the most pressing needs center on finding people with the right skills and education to fill current and future manufacturing roles and to develop future leaders. Highlights of the report include:
- “Adopt a School Program” to better connect our schools and curriculum with the needs of the manufacturing industry. As an example, the event yesterday was held at the Edison/Fareira High School Welding Facility in Philadelphia where we saw how several companies are putting their factory equipment in the school and jointly developing the curriculum to prepare the students and reduce their own cost of training.
- Develop industry led standardization of skills and curriculum.
- Better connect jobseekers with manufacturing job openings.
- Improve and better support career and technical education and expand proven strategies to increase the workforce pipeline.
The report also included a number of recommendations to support new markets for manufacturers, find better ways for the Commonwealth to support manufacturers, and develop a Pennsylvania Innovation Marketplace.
The report was presented by the Honorable Julia Hearthway, Secretary, Department of Labor and Industry. Secretary Hearthway noted how important manufacturing is to the vitality of businesses in Pennsylvania and that Governor Corbett supports the Council and its recommendations.
We are pleased to see the focus and attention on the skilled labor challenges so many of our Members face and will keep you informed of future developments. Please feel free to call me if you would like to discuss how MEA can help you.
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://www.meainfo.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/kevin-robins.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Kevin RobinsCEOkrobins@meainfo.org[/author_info] [/author]
