The manufacturing sector in the United States continues to face an ongoing labor shortage that shows no signs of letting up anytime soon. Recent reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveal a consistent pattern of nearly a half-million open manufacturing positions every month. As if that wasn’t enough of a challenge, the current administration’s
How much attention do you pay to where the products you buy are manufactured? Do you care that your clothes and shoes were likely made in southeast Asia? Or your smartphone? That was probably made in Asia, too. Many people have never given much thought to where things are manufactured. The supply chain disruptions caused
“Made in America!” Those three words evoke a range of thoughts and emotions, from simple patriotism to a belief in a higher-quality product. They’ve also become a bit of a political rallying cry. Since the beginning of 2025, American manufacturing has been in the national spotlight more than ever, largely due to the Trump administration’s
American manufacturers need workers. For years, they’ve struggled to fill open positions and, while some of their efforts have led to improved recruitment, there are still hundreds of thousands of open positions across the country. Thanks to the work of manufacturers and educators over the last decade, however, more students than ever are open to
Anyone tuned in to the state of manufacturing in America has been aware of the perennial thorn in the side of manufacturers everywhere: the skills gap. For many years now, manufacturers have struggled to fill open positions due to a shortage of workers with the skills needed to work with and alongside new advanced automation
On December 11, 2024, a ribbon cutting ceremony was held at the new Ivy Tech Manufacturing Innovation Training Center at the Emerging Manufacturing Collaboration Center (EMC2) in Indianapolis, Indiana. This cutting-edge advanced manufacturing training center is a collaboration between Ivy Tech Community College, Eli Lilly and Company, and 16 Tech Innovation District. These organizations are
What do you want to be when you grow up? Do you remember being asked that question as a child? What was your answer? Popular answers I remember from my own childhood included occupations like fireman, teacher, construction worker, and veterinarian. What did those occupations have in common? They do things that are easy to
Why Consider a Career in Manufacturing? Here’s What Manufacturing Workers Say If you work in the manufacturing industry or are involved in training the next generation of workers, there’s one fact you’re well aware of: manufacturing needs more highly skilled workers. The “skills gap” problem has existed for years and continues today. Modern manufacturers simply
How do you effectively prepare high school students for the manufacturing jobs of today and tomorrow? If you’re Chardon High School career and technical education (CTE) instructors Tracey Britt and Kim Butala, you partner with Amatrol and Buckeye Educational Systems to create what Taneisha Cordell from ABC News 5 Cleveland calls “a technology playground.” According
Recent employment statistics reveal that the U.S. economy has largely returned to pre-pandemic levels, although significant challenges remain. In particular, the manufacturing sector continues to experience problems finding enough highly-skilled workers to fill hundreds of thousands of open positions. How can manufacturers compete for workers in an increasingly-crowded labor market? A recent study by Harvard
The bell rings and you look up from your notes at a sea of curious, eager faces. Ready or not, it’s time to teach your first basic electrical class. These students are depending on you. You’re a journeyman electrician with years of experience. Yet, you feel somewhat unprepared to transfer your accumulated knowledge and experience
“The robots are coming! The robots are coming!” If there were a cry to herald the start of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, it might indeed echo the famous warning often attributed to Paul Revere. Just replace the British with robots and you get the idea. As Industry 4.0 technologies take hold in the modern manufacturing
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