Manufacturing touches everything we do in life. Even the teenager who snubs it as "boring' would be hard-pressed to do without the luxuries manufacturing has brought—the telephone, the automobile, the microwave oven.

Our American way of life depends on manufacturing to continually provide us with an easier, quicker, or high-tech method. High technology has entered manufacturing as well, allowing the production of quality products more quickly and simply.

These high-tech changes, though, have placed demands on the American worker, and our educational system has not kept up. Workers once relied on on-the-job training. Most plants today don't have the time or manpower to perform many training functions.

The American Society for Training and Development found that nearly 50 million workers need additional training to perform their current jobs effectively. It forecasts that by the year 2000, more than 65% of all jobs will require some education beyond high school, and 23 million people will be employed in professional and technical jobs that require ongoing training.

Decades of research by prominent organizations in industry, government, and education have pointed to the competency gaps between industry's manufacturing needs and educational programs.

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) found that firms screen six applicants for every one hired, rejecting two thirds for negative behavior or bad reference checks, one third for inadequate English skills, and one fourth for poor math skills.

In another NAM survey, half of a total of 255 human-resource directors said today's high-school graduates are not ready for entry-level manufacturing jobs. They lack communication, team-building, problem-solving, and critical-thinking skills.

At Carr Lane, I also see a need for quality graduates. I have always felt that talented, bright students should be encouraged to enter manufacturing, which is why I now serve as president of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers Education Foundation.

The SME and its Education Foundation announced a plan in August to transform manufacturing education to better prepare tomorrow's engineers to meet the new technical and business demands of the 21st century.

"Now is the time to clearly communicate industry's requirements from the front lines of manufacturing to the education and training community, to improve the quality of tomorrow's workforce," says Jack Ferrell, SME president.

"We want to close the gap between what manufacturing needs and what education delivers," says Phil Trimble,

Earl Walker thinks students should be encouraged to enter manufacturing jobs.

SME executive director. "To make this plan a success, we're giving the Education Foundation $3 million to fund a grant program."

The plan has three phases, the first of which focuses on identifying engineering competencies for manufacturing based on industry input, to be obtained through a series of workshops, followed by a national conference in June 1997. Phase II will seek to improve career competencies for manufacturing through lifelong learning processes for manufacturing professionals. Phase III, in 1998, will address workforce competencies for manufacturing for K-12 and post-secondary vocational programs.

Closing the gap between what manufacturing needs and what education delivers is a tall order, but one with big payoffs, allowing for better overall productivity and creativity in American industry.

The future of manufacturing lies in the minds of the students now contemplating the field. It is difficult, though, to get students enthused about manufacturing. Their opinions about the sciences are shaped from grade school on, often from instructors who have never worked in the industry. By the time these students attend college, they are already turned off to manufacturing, before any exposure to it.

By 2005, over 860,000 new engineering jobs will become available, according to the American Association of Engineering Societies. We need a constant supply of new talent to fill these new positions.

How our industry stands in 10 years will greatly impact the American quality of life. The SME plan will provide a good framework. But we can all contribute to the industry's advancement by encouraging bright students to consider manufacturing as a career. We can speak in classrooms, oversee student plant tours, or write letters to editors of student or local papers.

For the student who wants to make a difference, to see his or her work in action, no other field can compare. Manufacturing creates the American way of life.

For more information on the SME
Education Foundation, contact
Robert E. King at
(313) 271-1500, ext. 550.