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MiMfg Magazine
October 2019
Doug Ross
Keynote
Senior Advisor to Governor
Conversation Whitmer for Michigan Prosperity
a unique perspective
Q: on You the have Governor’s
policy
agenda. In your sphere of
influence, what are the top
challenges facing Michigan?
Ross: Michigan needs to
support the growth of its
current high-value industries and
foster new ones if we are to become
a top performing state economy. We
need to do this despite an aging and declining
workforce that ranks 32nd in the percentage of
adults holding college degrees and occupational
certificates. To bend the curve and beat most
growth projections for Michigan over the next
decade, we need to dramatically increase the
education and skill level of our workforce, develop
a world-competitive K-12 system, build a modern
physical and digital infrastructure, work to ensure
we remain a global center of mobility in the new
world of autonomous, connected, electric vehicles,
increase new business starts, and create more
places where young educated workers want to live.
We also need to replace our self-image as a
declining 20th century rust-belt state with one
that combines our heritage of technical innovation
and industrial entrepreneurship with a beautiful
peninsula in which to hike, sail, and vacation
(Boston meets Colorado). It’s a tall order, but the
Governor believes we can do it.
1 1 Appointed by Governor Whitmer in February 2019.
1 1 Dual charge is to lead the Governor’s initiative to
close Michigan’s skills gap and to work with the
Governor to formulate and implement the
Administration’s economic development policies.
1 1 Spent the last four decades working in the areas
of economic development and education.
critical factors of a strong state economy
Q: Two
include convincing out-of-state businesses to
expand into Michigan and keeping existing
manufacturers at home. How are you and the
Administration working to achieve those goals?
Ross: We believe keeping our current businesses
here and helping them expand is our first priority,
followed by the need to help Michiganders start
more businesses and attracting new firms to the
state. MEDC will continue to work with our existing
manufacturers and local development agencies to
make sure they confront a competitive business
climate and have access to customer-friendly help
when they need to solve problems involving state
and local government. We will maintain a set of
incentives for expansion and attraction, but
increasingly believe that availability of skilled
labor, a quality infrastructure, good public schools,
and a sound business climate are the most powerful
factors in a firm’s decision on where to locate.
remains the top priority for most
leaders in global manufacturing will be
Q: Talent
Q: Future
manufacturers. In what ways will the Whitmer
the businesses that discover new technologies
Administration prioritize skilled trades training
and job creation to continue the industry’s
decade-long upward trajectory?
Ross: The Governor’s proposals to make community
college universal for students graduating from high
school and adults who lack a college degree but
need to acquire new skills are designed to increase
Michiganders with so-called middle skills that
include a variety of occupational skills that require
less than a four-year degree but more than high
school. Both are modeled after successful business-
designed Tennessee initiatives.
and capitalize on opportunities for innovation.
How can Michigan position itself so that the
manufacturers here remain competitive?
Ross: We believe three things are critical: Access
to skilled labor at competitive costs, high quality
universities to serve as sources of technical
innovation and a next generation of computer
scientists and engineers, and an entrepreneurial
environment where early capital is available for
promising ideas. Helping our firms participate
successfully and profitably in the mobility revolution
will also create opportunities for the development
of new technologies that will have applications
beyond automotive.
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