Bullock Texas State History Museum
Manufacturers and Public Must Work Together
RECEIVED Fri., Jan. 20, 2006
Dear Editor,
The National Association of Manufacturers is not “blaming workers” for the broadening skills gap in America, as Jim Hightower claims in "The NAM’s Mess" [“The Hightower Report,” Jan. 13].
The 2005 Skills Gap Report by the NAM, the Manufacturing Institute, and Deloitte Consulting cited by Mr. Hightower issues a call to arms for manufacturers to invest more in skills training (roughly 3% of payroll) if they want to stay ahead in today’s rapidly changing economy.
But even dramatically higher investments by manufacturers won’t overcome the poor quality of our K-12 educational system. Modern manufacturing requires employees with advanced technical skills and a solid background in math, science, and communications that many of America’s schools are not providing.
Another difficult hurdle is our industry’s negative image, which stems from a fundamental misunderstanding about the high-paying, challenging jobs in today’s cutting-edge manufacturing. Manufacturers must do a better job telling their story to potential workers if they want to have the high-performance workforce that three out of four tell us is the most important driver of future business success.
We need a thoughtful national debate that rises above finger-pointing if this country is to avoid a human capital crisis when the baby boomers retire with no generation of skilled workers in the pipeline to replace them.
The National Association of Manufacturers is not “blaming workers” for the broadening skills gap in America, as Jim Hightower claims in "The NAM’s Mess" [“The Hightower Report,” Jan. 13].
The 2005 Skills Gap Report by the NAM, the Manufacturing Institute, and Deloitte Consulting cited by Mr. Hightower issues a call to arms for manufacturers to invest more in skills training (roughly 3% of payroll) if they want to stay ahead in today’s rapidly changing economy.
But even dramatically higher investments by manufacturers won’t overcome the poor quality of our K-12 educational system. Modern manufacturing requires employees with advanced technical skills and a solid background in math, science, and communications that many of America’s schools are not providing.
Another difficult hurdle is our industry’s negative image, which stems from a fundamental misunderstanding about the high-paying, challenging jobs in today’s cutting-edge manufacturing. Manufacturers must do a better job telling their story to potential workers if they want to have the high-performance workforce that three out of four tell us is the most important driver of future business success.
We need a thoughtful national debate that rises above finger-pointing if this country is to avoid a human capital crisis when the baby boomers retire with no generation of skilled workers in the pipeline to replace them.
Jerry Jasinowski
President
The Manufacturing Institute
(the research and education arm of the NAM)
Washington D.C.
President
The Manufacturing Institute
(the research and education arm of the NAM)
Washington D.C.
[Jim Hightower responds: Thanks, Jerry, for noting that NAM’s report is “a call” for manufacturers to invest more in skills training. But are they answering the call? And, while you criticize “the poor quality of our K-12 educational system,” corporate members of NAM routinely demand that local school districts exempt them from school taxes when they move into an area. Sometimes it takes a little finger-pointing to get not merely a debate, but action.]
