Washington Business Spring 2017 | Washington Business | Page 16

from the chair
Time to Share the Value of Hands-on Careers
Wendy Sancewich
Jobs in high-tech, hands- on
manufacturing are outpacing
our education system’s ability to
fill the workforce pipeline.
And, the number of projected
job openings is staggering.
Recent research by the
National Association of
Manufacturers’ (NAM)
Manufacturing Institute echoes
RSM’s 2016 Monitor Survey
findings: There are more than
350,000 manufacturing jobs
available in the U.S. right now.
NA M ’s re s e a rc h a l s o p o i n t s
out that over the next decade,
modern manufacturing will have
nearly 3.5 million job vacancies.
A Washington Roundtable
study estimates 740,000 job
openings in the next five years
in Washington state alone, most
of which require some level of
post-secondary education, such
as trade, two-year or four-year
degree.
T h e n u m b e r s s e e m o v e r-
whelming, but what do they mean to us?
First, it means Washington — and U.S. — based manufacturing
firms will be populating job sites looking for the talent they
need to build their companies and compete globally.
That leads to the second, more challenging, issue: Employers
will increasingly rely on a vibrant educational effort to give
students the skills they need to fill those high-paying, high-tech
manufacturing jobs.
But, employers are doers and optimists, always looking for an
opportunity to build something better. Here’s our chance.
We can use this data as an opening to step in and help shape
the K-12 educational system in ways that help young people
graduate high school career- and college-ready.
16 association of washington business
Pa r t o f t h a t r o l e i s t o
highlight the value of diverse
career pathways through
robust career and technical
education. To do that, we have
to share the positive story
of hands-on learning that
prepares students for jobs in
manufacturing and the high-
paying opportunities they
offer with parents, teachers,
our elected officials and, more
importantly, students.
Of course, we need doctors
and accountants, and we should
have rigorous coursework that
prepares every student for
that path, but we also need
carpenters and pipefitters.
That’s a message worth sharing,
and may be a welcome relief to
students that are not interested
in the four-year university
track after graduation.
We also have tremendous
opportunities in Washington
state to expand the partnerships
with our community and technical colleges to create programs
and training that meets a need within our many high-tech
manufacturing sectors — from medical device to aerospace and
everything in between.
And, we must change the perception of manufacturing in
younger generations by opening our shop floors to classrooms,
letting students, parents and educators see the clean, high-
tech operations of today’s manufacturers. AWB Institute’s
Manufacturing Week Oct. 2-6 is the perfect time to start
this effort.
To fill these jobs will take a multi-pronged effort, but on our
side is the positive story of economic opportunity for all. Let’s
start telling it to everyone we meet starting today.