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School may be out for the summer, but New York State is learning some important lessons about training tomorrow’s manufacturing workforce. From Buffalo to the Capital Region, the public and private sectors are working together to fill the manufacturing skills gap. Meanwhile, “the world of manufacturing is changing very rapidly,” explains Linda Shadler, professor and associate dean of engineering at RPI.
At Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, the Manufacturing Innovation Learning Lab plans to add programs, equipment, and advanced manufacturing space. The project is still in the development phase, but RPI is targeting technologies such as 3D printing and micro and nano machining. At nearby Hudson Valley Community College (HVCC), an advanced manufacturing program is already underway.

During a recent visit to Pittsburgh, President Obama promised to provide small-to-medium manufacturers with the tooling they need to help themselves. “I can’t rent the Space Shuttle to you,” he joked, “but there are areas where we can enhance what is already being done by companies like TechShop,” a Steel City business that is lending production tools and equipment to local manufacturers.
On that same day, the White House announced that the Administration would offer entrepreneurs easier access to high-tech resources at more than 700 federal R&D facilities, including NASA’s National Center for Advanced Manufacturing in New Orleans. To speed the development of innovative materials, five federal agencies will also spend more than $150-million to support the Material Genome Initiative.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has awarded the Research Foundation for the State University of New York (SUNY) more than $90,000 as part of its Federal and State Technology (FAST) partnership program. Designed to stimulate the growth of technology-driven companies, FAST requires participating states such as New York to provide matching funds for awarded amounts.
According to SBA, FAST helps small, “socially and economically disadvantaged” firms to compete in SBA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. SBIR supports technological innovation and scientific excellence. STTR promotes partnerships between small businesses and leading universities and non-profit research institutions.

Since 1947, the International Standards Organization (ISO) has published over 19,500 standards that cover a range of industries. Adherence to ISO standards is voluntary, but many manufacturers prize ISO 9001:2008 certification. Most mention it in their marketing materials and on their websites. Some even fly ISO flags or hang ISO banners to demonstrate their commitment to the Quality Management System (QMS).

It’s no secret that American manufacturing bled jobs during the Great Recession. During 26 trying months, from December 2007 to February 2010, manufacturing’s misfortune accounted for half the decline in U.S. GDP. Now that that the nation is experiencing a manufacturing revival, does the patient deserve a clean bill of health?
Some vital signs are improving. For example, from February 2010 to May 2014, the manufacturing sector added 646,000 jobs. That wasn’t the only good news for hourly employees. During this same period, the average length of their work week climbed from 39.3 to 42.1 hours. While earning regular paychecks and overtime pay, American manufacturing workers boosted total output and added-value production.

In an effort to stimulate economic growth in the startup and emerging business sectors, Congress is working on new rules and regulations that will make it easier for businesses to raise capital directly from the public. To raise awareness of this initiative, the Center of Excellence in Wireless and Information Technology (CEWIT), NYSTAR, Sensor CAT, and the Center for Biotechnology presented a Crowdfunding Workshop earlier this year to discuss the latest economic growth and fundraising tool.

If you could build a time machine, would you want to travel back to 1979 or 1953? For manufacturers who survived the 1970s, the last year of that difficult decade was when the total number of U.S manufacturing jobs peaked at 20 million. For industries that thrived during the “Happy Days” of the 1950s, the year 1953 was when the highest percentage of Americans (28%) worked in factories.
Today, plenty of pundits and economists are extolling America’s manufacturing revival. Reshoring is hot, and stories about Made in USA manufacturing are promising. As author Daniel Ikenson notes, however, the term “revival” implies that there was a decline. Yes, it’s true that modern-day manufacturing isn’t matching the metrics of 1979 or 1953. But did those numbers mean all that much to begin with?

Does your NYS manufacturing company ship products to Canada? Have you considered opening an office in China, or a warehouse in Mexico? Depending on your industry, maybe markets in Asia, Europe, or India are a better fit. New York manufacturers have a world of options when it comes to international trade, and the Empire State supports exports by land, sea, or air.
So where do you start, especially if your manufacturing company is a small-to-medium enterprise (SME) instead of a large corporation? In an article called “Four Steps to Making the Most of Export Opportunities,” trade expert Paul Daemen explains what you need to do. Evaluating market potential is important, but it’s only the first step in a process that requires research and analysis.

Scaling the Maker Economy through Small-Batch Manufacturing Etsy and Fuze Hub will conduct a pilot to help small designers and makers scale their production through local