Today’s advanced manufacturing is not your father’s factory job By the Arkansas Economic Development Commission
Arkansas has been a leader in manufacturing for more than half a century, and it is fundamental to the state’s economic diversity and success. Today’s advanced manufacturing businesses mean more jobs, higher pay, a better standard of living, and higher export potential. A 2015 study by the Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte found that there exists a growing skills gap between the talent manufacturers need and the talent currently available. According to the report, U.S. manufacturers will need to fill almost 3.5 million jobs. About 2 million of these – more than half – will go unfilled because of the skills gap. A large majority of jobs will be available due to retirements (an estimated 2.7 million jobs) and economic expansions (about 700,000 jobs). Unfortunately, several factors are contributing to the climate including loss of knowledge
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as workers retire, a negative image of manufacturing among younger generations, lack of STEM and soft skills, and a decline of technical education programs in public schools. During his inaugural address, Gov. Asa Hutchinson listed four goals for achieving economic stability, all of which point toward making business easier to conduct in Arkansas. These include lowering tax rates, implementing a workforce initiative to improve job skill training for high schools and twoyear colleges, offering computer science classes in every high school and introducing middle-school students to careers in technology, and reducing the burden of unreasonable regulations on businesses. All four goals were reached within two years. Now our state needs more skilled workers. For Arkansas to grow and succeed in the
