Manufacturers – the backbone and future of Wisconsin’s economy

By Buckley Brinkman

Executive Director/CEO Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership (WMEP)

Manufacturing is a critical part of the Wisconsin economy. We continually rank as the top manufacturing state in the country with over 19% (and growing) of the state’s GDP coming from the manufacturing sector. There are 442,700 workers who call the manufacturing sector their home – over 23% of the non-farm workforce. Manufacturing provides some of the highest paying jobs in the state, yet few young people set their sights on a career in manufacturing.  This is especially troubling because the unemployment rates for young people remain high (18% for people ages 16-24), even as manufacturers seek bright and motivated employees to fill many empty positions.

Why is a career in manufacturing not at the top of the list?  Because thirty years ago, policy decisions were made that moved us toward a technology and knowledge-based economy at the expense of manufacturing. Manufacturing was an afterthought and seemingly doomed to extinction. We pointed our educational systems at college preparation and focused our economic development on new sectors rooted in bits and bytes or the ability of experts to create solutions to problems. 

Those policy decisions have been successful in a way – there are more college grads than ever before, with Wisconsin ranking at the top of the list. Unfortunately, unemployment or underemployment of college grads is higher now than it was in 2010, and the debt load is at a record high.  We push our kids into college and measure our schools by how well they deliver SAT scores and college placements. Meanwhile, 70% of Wisconsin’s jobs require a two-year degree or less, and over 43,000 college graduates are now in our technical school system, retooling themselves for the jobs in today’s economy. We have lost a generation to this system; setting them up with high debt and lower paying jobs, while thousands of jobs remain vacant. Solutions will require untangling 30 years of systems, thinking, and mindsets.

This untangling will require a state-wide effort. Our manufacturers, parents, students, educators, and policy makers all have a role to play in creating effective solutions. These solutions are about making informed decisions about difficult situations in order to understand where we stand, how we got here,  and where we need to go.

Technology and trends make these decisions more difficult. Our economy is no longer based on job skills that can be learned early and then applied throughout life. Change is accelerating and we are becoming an economy based on flexibility to address those changes. Young people entering the workforce today will need to retool themselves three to five times during the course of their careers and change jobs seven or more times. 

It’s time to make clear decisions about our future and each step forward to take action:

• If you’re a parent, encourage your children to make good decisions about their future that align with their talents.  Include manufacturing in those discussions. Careers in manufacturing offer high-paying jobs with promising futures.
• If you’re a student, balance the salary of a college degree and thousands of dollars of debt with the opportunity to learn a skill and land a great job in a trade – a career that has plenty of opportunity for advancement.
• If you’re a business leader, reach out to the next generation and encourage our kids to follow the paths you’ve found to be fulfilling and rewarding. Invest in their future, rather than waiting for them to appear fully prepared on your doorstep.
• If you’re an educator, develop ways to make it less disruptive and more effective to retool skills throughout careers. Tailor courses to include training for specific skill sets that Wisconsin businesses need.

All of us have a vested interest in the future and the health of our economy. Manufacturing is the engine that drives Wisconsin’s economy. It can provide a prosperous future for us all if we work together to create an environment for innovation, an environment where manufacturing thrives. 

Also printed in the Appleton Post Crescent, December 11, 2011