BY PATRICK McLAUGHLIN
When the Commonwealth of Virginia joined the National Association of Manufacturers’ (www.nam.org) manufacturing-career campaign “Dream It Do It” in late October, it became the eleventh region of the country to do so.
Developed by NAM—and its research/education/workforce arm, The Manufacturing Institute—“Dream It Do It” builds strong regional alliances to attract young people to careers in advanced manufacturing, and provides them with related educational and training opportunities. Since the 2005 pilot campaign in Kansas City, “Dream It Do It” has spread to Virginia, Nebraska, Indiana and regions in Ohio, Texas, Washington, Arizona, and Illinois.
“Virginia is a role model for states that seek to improve their global competitiveness by creating a skilled workforce,” said NAM president and chief executive officer John Engler in a statement at the time Virginia’s participation in the program was announced. “America is in a worldwide race for skilled talent. More than 80% of NAM members are having difficulty finding qualified employees for today’s high-tech workplace, and this problem is getting worse as the Baby Boom generation retires. We must inspire more young people to prepare for and pursue careers in manufacturing if we want to remain globally competitive.”
The numbers Engler cites are supported by the NAM/Manufacturing Institute’s Skills Gap Report, most recently published in 2005 and scheduled for updating in 2010. (The organizations collaborate with Deloitte Consulting on the study.)
“When the first Skills Gap report was published in 1991, we were struck by the shortage of skilled workers,” says Laura Narvaiz, vice president, communications with The Manufacturing Institute. “That report led to the creation of the Center for Workforce Success, and to the creation of ‘Dream It Do It’.” Reports of skilled-worker shortages continued in the follow-up reports, in 1998 and 2005.
“Unfortunately, the problem is broadening, not getting better,” Narvaiz observes. “In the next few years, seven million manufacturers will retire. That’s half the manufacturing workforce. We’re competing with companies all over the world [for skilled labor]. There’s a shortage of skilled people across the board—health care, construction, rebuilding of infrastructure.”
One of The Manufacturing Institute’s chief objectives is to detach the stigma that clings to community and technical colleges. “So many kids drop out of high school or feel like they need to go to a four-year college because of societal bias,” Narvaiz says. “Part of the goal for ‘Dream It Do It’ is to raise the profile of community and technical colleges.”
But she cautions, “This campaign won’t work on the ground in these regions unless there’s a strong collaboration among education, industry, and government. We can’t direct young people to these jobs unless they have the education and training they need. The community colleges and technical schools are a big part of the campaign.”
Despite the challenges, The Manufacturing Institute remains intent on establishing more programs like the one in Virginia and 10 other regions in the country.
“Thousands of high-tech manufacturing jobs are opening in Virginia, and they will require significant skills training and certification if our industry is to remain competitive,” says Brett Vassey, president and chief executive officer of the Virginia Manufacturers Association. “‘Dream It Do It’ Virginia will help align education, workforce and economic growth strategies statewide so that more individuals can be aware of and participate in the great opportunities afforded by careers in advanced manufacturing.”
