The skills gap continues to put pressure on the United States manufacturing industry. As jobs return and the necessary skills to fill these positions remain scarce, the country works toward offering the proper training to bolster the modern manufacturing workforce. One of the projects that aim at addressing the destructive skills gap is taking place in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin is investing $20 million to prepare individuals for electronics manufacturing jobs which are in high-demand throughout the state. The initiative will create job training programs at colleges and universities to cultivate a modern manufacturing talent pool which Wisconsin manufacturers desperately need.
The initiative was announced by Gov. Scott Walker on Wednesday, January 17, 2018, at Milwaukee Area Technical College. Funding was secured as part of legislation lawmakers approved last year to allow the Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group to build a facility in southeast Wisconsin. Even though Foxconn could create up to 13,000 jobs, Walker insists the initiative won’t just be focused on Foxconn-related jobs. Manufacturing jobs throughout the country are becoming more technology centered and the effort to up-skill the local workforce could have a dramatic impact on Wisconsin’s workforce as a whole.
High-school students are even being considered as a part of this initiative. It will be critical to include younger students in advanced manufacturing and technology training before they reach college or decide to instead pursue a career after graduation. Scholarships will also be available to these students with a passion for technology, actively seeking to expand their skill set. Training will be available for high-demand fields.
This initiative has the potential to bridge the skills gap that continues to plague the industry. When educational institutions focus on the training the local workforce requires, it helps prepare students for the exact kind of work that will be available to them after graduation. Manufacturers are actively seeking individuals with a technical knowledge of the equipment and technology which has been making its way to the industry. Individuals with this training and educations are extremely difficult to come by. As Wisconsin focuses on offering the skills these manufacturers desperately need, the workforce will be ready to fill the plethora of highly advanced manufacturing jobs that continue to become available.
Be sure to check back on MFGTalkRadio.com for more discussions on the modern workforce and what the world is doing to bridge the skills gap. If nothing is done, this problem will only continue to become more severe. Now is the time to act in order to ensure manufacturers have the right workforce available to them. Keep a close eye on where these initiatives take place, it could be the best place look when searching for that next new employee.
Sources:
www.manufacturing.net/news/2018/01/walker-unveils-20m-technology-job-training-initiative
www.usnews.com/news/best-states/wisconsin/articles/2018-01-17/walker-unveils-20m-technology-job-training-initiative
