Baltimore City and Baltimore County in Maryland have opted to develop a manufacturing career pathway under the sponsorship of the State of Maryland and the US Department of Labor. This region was once a manufacturing juggernaut with steel mills, ship building, automobile assembly plants, soap factories, sugar processing, and many specialty manufacturers. As outlined in a Pratt Center report4
and a Brookings Institute report5, the decline in urban manufacturing was paral-
leled by an increase in urban poverty. This was certainly the case in Baltimore, and it reflects a trend that occurred over the last 50 years in many urban centers as blue collar jobs went overseas. Manufacturing labor has declined as a percentage of the nation’s work force since 1961 due in part to productiv- ity improvements and to the offshoring of many manufacturing jobs. Through the Maryland manufacturing pathways program, the Baltimore region will connect resources, local governments, educational programs, and industry partners to develop visible pathways that start at the high school GED level and connect up through the PhD manufacturing engineer. The Baltimore City School system, in collaboration with SME, local manufacturers, the mayor of Baltimore, and the National Institute of Metalworking Skills is introducing a new manufacturing program of Study in the Baltimore High School Office of “Learning to Work” Career and Technology Education program. Working with NIMS and SME’s Tooling U program, the curriculum will initially focus on training CNC machinists. The curriculum will use revised Tooling-U course work and NIMS certifications to build traditional and advanced skills. The program will be linked with community college programs to provide a post high school educational component to the career pathway.
There is a pressing need to renew the linkage between those providing manufacturing education and those who would hire their graduates. Unlike countries such as Japan, Germany, and China, the US generally does not have effective apprenticeship or internship programs that facilitate commu- nication and transition between educators and manufacturing. While such programs existed in the US in the last century, they were gradually extinguished as we focused on other na- tional priorities. To renew these processes, organizations such as SME must play an active role in creating and maintaining these links.
4. Pratt Center report:
http://tinyurl.com/mfgengcommunities 5. Brookings Institute report:
http://tinyurl.com/BrookingsBaltimore
By including internships in academic programs, the feedback channels are opened and employers and educators create pragmatic communication channels. Summer intern- ships of manufacturing educators within manufacturing facili- ties can also provide a mechanism for communication and understanding. Conversely, the manufacturing engineer who is drawn into the classroom can immediately understand the challenges of the educator. National mechanisms to facilitate such programs should be expanded to accelerate the process.
Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, the Mayor of Baltimore, attended the SME Annual Conference in June. She was joined by a group of Baltimore City students and their parents.
Manufacturing employment in the US has gradually shifted from large to smaller firms. While supply chains were once stacked by company size, there are now many examples of first-tier small manufacturers who are able to compete in both national and international markets. While net decline in manufacturing employment is disturbing from a national workforce perspective, the smaller manufacturing workforce at least results in a capability to more rapidly retool for advanced manufacturing without displacing large numbers of workers. The current rate of technology change is extraordinary. The time to market for new products has been reduced to months while the lifecycle of new products can now also be measured in months. As we consider the next 50 years, it is instructive to reflect on manufacturing changes during the last 50 years. The impact of factory automation is now being felt throughout the world. To compete in the international manufacturing sector, we must have the best workforce. To sustain the best workforce, we need major changes in manufacturing education both through the traditional education process and into the con- tinuing education process. ME
August 2013 |
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