July 2007 Edition

The Last Word

It’s Time to Move Beyond the Fallacy of ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ Jobs

There may be fewer working in the manufacturing field, but their productivity is higher than ever. We must make sure that the follow-on generation is trained in the skills to maintain that power to produce.

I keep hearing there are no jobs in manufacturing. The Chicago Federal Reserve stated that in 1942, there were 25 million people involved in manufacturing. Today there are about 15 million – a 10 million loss – but those workers now provide about three times more goods and services.

Back then, about 25 million people were involved in service industries. Today there are 125 million in the service industry.

While a large number of manufacturing jobs have gone away, it’s not because all jobs have gone to China. Some are gone because of increased productivity.

Of the 15 million people in the manufacturing workforce, the median age is 53. Once they age-out of the workforce there are going to be manufacturing jobs available for years to come.

One of the big problems we have – and this is a personal bias of mine – is that the media talk about “good” jobs and “bad” jobs. Manufacturing jobs in shops pay well. Manufacturing will never go away.

Do Not Pass “Go,” Do Not Collect $200

China may be one of the first countries to move from a developing country to an aging country without an intermediate step, according to an item I read. They have a population disconnect with their one-child rule.

The normal gender split in populations is about 50/50. In China, the split between male and female population is about 60 percent in favor of men. I can see potential trouble. If they don’t balance their population, it will implode.

Another fallacy being circulated is the idea that jobs are leaving the U.S. for foreign shores. A few decades ago everyone was worried about U.S. manufacturing going to Japan. It did for a while, but then the Japanese began to move the manufacturing of products for the U.S. back to the U.S. for a couple of reasons. Initially, they sent their auto plants to the U.S. to be closer to us and save the cost of shipping everything across an ocean, and because they were running out of workers and couldn’t keep up with the demand for product.

Europe is suffering population decline among its native citizens. The former conglomeration of countries that was once the Soviet Union is estimated to drop its population numbers by 20 million in the next decade and a half.

In the U.S., even with the influx of immigrants from Central and South America, we’re barely at a breaking-even, population wise. So there will be positions available in U.S. manufacturing for those who have skills.

Hey Kids, Stay in School

We must encourage young people to stay in school. A Newsweek article said 30 percent of eighth-graders will not graduate from high school. That’s a scary number, especially as jobs require specialized education.

The Fabricators and Manufacturers Association – FMA – is assisting in the goal of exposing the young to opportunities in manufacturing by taking middle school and high school students to factories. The FMA runs camps across the U.S. where students learn how to design a product and, in some cases, how to manufacture it. Students go into factories and see they are clean and high tech.

In Rockford, IL, the school superintendent took high school counselors to manufacturing shops. Most of the counselors had never been inside a manufacturing facility, so they steered students to college. Upon exposure to modern manufacturing facilities, counselors changed the message that all must work toward a four-year degree.

We must move away from the “good job/bad job” mindset and encourage people to train for manufacturing careers. The FMA and other organizations are working toward that. Small shops need to band together and talk to their local community colleges about training the next generation of manufacturers.

If our public schools won’t set up training programs, we must set up our own – at community colleges or our own facilities – to train tomorrow’s workers. Otherwise, jobs go offshore because no one here who can do them.

Gerald Shankel, president and CEO of FMA, has spent the majority of his career with professional societies serving the manufacturing sector. He is a Certified Association Executive.

What do you think?
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