Below, find articles and links to information about the future of manufacturing including stories of innovation, workforce ideas, and industry news.

From AMT Smartforce:  “Time is of the Essence”

February 10, 2021

NIMS Smart Standards are designed to allow for competency based education, be easy for schools to customize  enable new areas to keep pace with emerging technologies like additive manufacturing and cybersecurity.  Stackability – that is,  short-term education tracks that can be combined to a certificate – also makes NIMS even more attractive.  This will allow rapid shifts reflecting changing industry.  AMT’s Smartforce Development team, led by Greg Jones, will work to stay in front of emerging job functions to stay ahead of skills gaps.

From Industry Week: Renewing the Case for Career and Technical Education

Sept 24 2020

This article by Stephen Gold is a clear summary of the skills gap’s origins, its status as affected by COVID-19, and a call to action: every manufacturer needs to get involved with skills training.

From AMTNews:  “MFG Day is Friday, Oct. 2, 2020”

September 23, 2020

Greg Jones’ blog entry points out ways manufacturers, educators, and organizers are adapting and providing virtual content. The NIMS Online job board, the Smartforce Career and Education Experience, and the Mentor Matching Engine are virtual – which makes these opportunities available to students across the nation.  Read the article here!

From MMS:  “Covid-19 …Taught Us We Need People”

August 21, 2020

“Does the COVID-19 crisis make the case for even greater use of automation in manufacturing, particularly in CNC machine shops?” asks Peter Zelinski, editor- in-chief of Modern Machine Shop.  “We saw how much we need people in the ways we struggled to do without them, and we discovered them to be so essential that we learned to make strange accommodations just to keep them with us,” the article continues.  Read more here – and other great articles on workforce from Modern Machine Shop.

From AMT News:  “Manufacturer Interest in Reshoring, Hiring, and Apprenticeships Increasing During COVID-19 Pandemic”

August 20, 2020

AMT News recently shared an article that during the COVID-19 pandemic, manufacturers are actually reshoring jobs (that’s the opposite of off-shoring), are hiring, and are overwhelmingly confident about the future.  To learn more about this good news and read the article, click here!

Stories of Ingenuity in the time of Coronavirus

April 22, 2020

• The Wall Street Journal describes how companies are responding in much the same way they did during WWII: “It is a 21st-century version of the “Arsenal of Democracy,” the mobilization of industrial might that helped win World War II, only this time to make personal protective equipment, ventilators, tests and vaccines instead of uniforms, ammunition, tanks and bombers.”  Click here to read the article – which has even more inspiring stories.

•  Some hospitals are inviting healthy local volunteers to make cloth masks as a backup resource*.   For example, Here’s the guidelines for hand-sewn masks: Fabric masks are a crisis response option when other supplies have been exhausted. Volunteers must be healthy, without signs of fever, coughing, or shortness of breath, and must not have been in contact with anyone suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19 in the past 14 days.Volunteer mask makers are asked to use 100% unused, non-metallic cotton fabric for the front, and 100% cotton or cotton flannel for the back, along with ¼” or 3/8” flat elastics. Instructions for the preferred mask type may be found here.   (*These cloth masks are not as effective as the ones used in hospitals; however, they can still be used in healthcare settings for other circumstances allowing the N95’s to be saved for COVID19 patients.)

• From AutoNews:  “Ford Motor Co. plans to build respirators, ventilators and face shields in partnership with its UAW work force, manufacturing company 3M and GE Healthcare to aid medical workers as the coronavirus pandemic threatens to overwhelm their supply.  Known internally as “Project Apollo” and inspired by the quick-thinking ingenuity of the Apollo 13 space mission, executives on Tuesday said Ford workers plan to use car parts and factory tools to help get some equipment out to doctors, nurses and first responders as early as this week. ”  Read more here.

• From Forbes:   “While this is a frightening time in so many ways, innovation has demonstrated innumerable times throughout history justified confidence and faith in the “invisible hand,” from the private sector’s transformative power in winning World War II to putting out oil well fires in Kuwait after being sabotaged at the end of the Gulf War in 1991.  ….Manufacturing capabilities are being expanded so they are ready to ramp up production once a successful medicine or vaccine is developed. And they are donating supplies and medicines around the world to help those affected. ”   Read more here 

• From The Guardian:  “The last few weeks have seen a wave of ingenuity unleashed, with both garden-shed tinkerers and high-tech manufacturers scrambling to develop things that will combat the spread of Covid-19. Many of their innovations raise as many questions as they answer, though. …From 3D-printed respirator valves to UV-sanitising robots, here are 10 inventions that the battle against coronavirus has spawned so far.”  Read about them here.

If you know of a story we should add to this list, send us an email or contact us on social media!

Manufacturing Today

September 19, 2019

Manufacturing is vital to the health of the US and global economy.  A vibrant manufacturing base leads to more research and development, innovation, productivity, exports, and middle-class jobs. More than any other sector, manufacturing helps raise living standards—improving quality of life for people.

Currently, there are about 500,000 manufacturing jobs available in the United States. Experts project that by the end of 2025, the U.S. manufacturing sector will witness a shortage of around 2 million skilled workers.  Through career awareness campaigns, STEM programs and strategic partnerships with education and industry, the American Precision Museum is committed to working with key stakeholders to bring attention to this skills gap. 

This is the historical birthplace of our industry, the American System, Precision Valley.  There is no better place to link our history to the present and inspire the next generation to pursue prosperous career pathways in manufacturing.