November 2014

American manufacturing has a skills gap, but experts disagree about its size and severity. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were over 300,000 unfilled manufacturing jobs in June 2014. By 2020, The Boston Consulting Group warns that U.S. manufacturers could face a shortfall of 875,000 highly skilled industrial workers. Today, approximately 10% of American workers are employed in manufacturing.

Business Week recently reported that the average age of a U.S. manufacturing worker is 56. As Anna Wells explains in Industrial Maintenance and Plant Operation (IMPO) magazine, a potential shortage of skilled workers isn’t the only concern. “How do the youngest crop of workers,” she asks, “best learn from their more seasoned counterparts?”

On Manufacturing Day, President Barack Obama announced a new Manufacturing Innovation Institute Competition for an Integrated Photonics Manufacturing Institute. Early this year, the President unveiled plans for manufacturing innovation institutes in Chicago and Detroit, along with a national competition for four more private-public sector initiatives.

Is manufacturing still strong in western New York? According to Buffalo Business First, U.S. government statistics show that the two-county Buffalo metropolitan area ranks 14th for manufacturing employment among the nation’s 51 major metros. In the Buffalo-Niagara Falls region today, nearly 12% of all civilian jobs are in the manufacturing sector. Compare that to Detroit, the national leader at just over 18%.