There are 2.8 million fewer manufacturing jobs today than there were just three years ago, according to the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). Hardest hit have been California, Texas, Michigan, Ohio and North Carolina, which combine for nearly 1 million of those lost jobs. In North Carolina, one out of every five factory jobs in July 2000 no longer exists.

But a recent survey conducted by the NAM suggests this workforce reduction isn’t fully a result of layoffs from the current recession.

In the NAM study, more than 80 percent of manufacturers reported a shortage of qualified job candidates, 60 percent said they are having difficulty maintaining the production levels necessary to meet demands and 40 percent say they cannot implement new productivity improvements.

“Technological advances have dramatically changed manufacturing during the past two decades,” said Toni McCarty, co-director of the National Center for Integrated Systems Technology at Illinois State University. “Manufacturers cannot find skilled workers, and America’s competitiveness in the global economy is in greater jeopardy than ever before. If America loses its infrastructure of individuals who understand integrated systems, industries will be forced to close their doors or move offshore because they can’t find qualified workers within the United States.”

That’s why McCarty and her colleagues developed the Dislocated Workers’ Integrated Systems Technology (IST) Training Project, a program designed to prepare dislocated workers for high-tech careers with instruction offered at eight community colleges — four in Illinois and four in Ohio.

Funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, the IST program calls for 200 to 230 hours of intensive, self-directed, hands-on training for manufacturing jobs that require operating, troubleshooting and maintaining equipment involved in high-tech integrated systems.

“The IST initiative began six years ago when it was recognized that manufacturers across America were finding it more difficult to find highly skilled individuals who understood the new and emerging technologies being used in today’s manufacturing environments,” McCarty said. “As these environments have become more involved with — and dependent upon — technological advancements, it has become more critical to train a new breed of worker.”

Since the first IST class graduated in March 2003, 45 dislocated workers have been hired in high-tech manufacturing positions that involve the knowledge and use of multiple integrated systems, McCarty said. In all, more than 550 workers will eventually be recruited, assessed, retrained and employed in these positions. (For more information, access the IST Web site at www.ncist.ilstu.edu.)

“Businesses are beginning to really understand the importance of workforce issues in business competitiveness,” said Stacey Wagner, director of workforce initiatives for the NAM’s Center for Workforce Success. “Businesses know the skills their employees will need; they just don’t know, nor should they be expected to know, how to create a curriculum to provide those skills.”

Clarksville Creates Partnership

Economic developers, institutions of higher education and businesses are teaming up to create initiatives aimed at meeting workforce demands.

That’s the mission of the Workforce Development Task Force in Clarksville, Tenn., but it’s a common goal shared by economic development agencies and educational institutions throughout the country. It’s also an idea fully supported by the business community, especially the manufacturing sector.

Wagner said Clarksville, located less than an hour north of Nashville, is another “best-case scenario” for these types of partnerships. Recently, the Clarksville Chamber was chosen to participate in Workforce Academy 2020, sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

“Business executives and area educational institutions came together to educate the community and business leadership on the importance and cost of training and retaining quality employees,” said Kay Hester, Clarksville’s workforce development manager.

Hester said one innovative initiative coming from Workforce 2020 is Jobs Partnership of Clarksville and Montgomery County.

“Jobs Partnership is a faith-based collaboration between churches and businesses to train those persons unemployed and unemployable in basic workplace ethics and skills needed to be successful in the work environment,” Hester said. “The objective of Jobs Partnership is giving skills to participants, bringing them from dependence [on the welfare system] to self-sufficiency for themselves and their families.”

While Clarksville doesn’t provide specific training programs, Hester said the city often helps match employer needs with labor market skills.

“As a facilitator, we often involve various training providers in the site-selection process if relevant issues arise,” she said.

But what comes first? Should economic development agencies have programs in place before the process begins or should they wait to see what type of manufacturing company is considering coming to town?

“If high-quality training programs are in place, and continuous program improvement is truly implemented within these training programs, the distinction between workforce development and economic development becomes less defined and the needs of both education and industry can be met,” McCarty said. “These educational infrastructures are in place and available to employers — it’s simply a matter of how effective and efficient they are in serving the specific, customized needs of

employers.”

Because of initiatives like those in Clarksville and at Illinois State, today’s manufacturers are on the verge of reaping the benefits of having a more highly skilled pool of available workers from which to draw.

“Obviously, companies that are in a growth and expansion mode look first at the availability, accessibility and specific skill levels of a community’s labor market,” Hester said. “An effective workforce development program addresses each of these areas to ensure that potential workers are, or can be, prepared with the availability of adequate training programs.”

Dan Perkins is a freelance writer based in St. Louis.