^ MFG Week 2019 Student Tours. Photo courtesy David Bohrer, National Association Of Manufacturers
Why not MFG?
By: Sally Michaels, Business Retention Manager, Frederick County EDA accounting, transportation and logistics, etc. One hundred thousand jobs in Virginia are related to manufacturing exports! 1 The manufacturing world today is extremely innovative, high tech and demand oriented. This is what is now termed, ‘advanced manufacturing’. Remember Econ 101 and supply and demand? When demand and production increase, efficiency then increases, which is profitable for the company and lucrative for the employees. Companies are looking for skilled employees and in most scenarios, they are willing to pay for training and certifications. Manufacturing is the third largest sector of private employment in Virginia. So why aren’t more people moving in this direction? They don’t know what they don’t know; neither the companies that are local nor the types of careers available!
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Student toured Green Bay Packaging during the 2019 Manufacturing Week. Photo courtesy Frederick County EDA.
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Make, produce, fabricate, create, assemble, construct, build, turn out, form, model, forge, shape, mold....manufacture! According to the Virginia Manufacturer’s Association, the United States is the largest manufacturing economy, producing 21% of global manufactured goods; next is Japan at 13% and China at 12%. The U.S. is twice as productive as the next 10 leading manufacturing economies! In Virginia, 5,000+ manufacturers employ over 200,000 individuals, contribute $34 billion to the gross state product, and account for over 80% of the state’s exports to the global economy. Think about it; All of this product has to be tested, approved, copyrighted, boxed, shipped, hauled, stored, marketed, sold. When a single job is created for manufacturing, another three or four jobs are then created to support that job; legal, HR,
MFG Week 2019 Student Tours. Photo courtesy David Bohrer, National Association Of Manufacturers
