Yes, Academia, There Really is a Skills Gap!

While politicians butt heads in Washington, it's important to remember that manufacturers are focused on keeping the economy moving, by running our businesses as best we can and addressing challenges to this growth such as the industry's skills shortage.

A couple of recent stories in the media highlight how seriously we at NTMA and our members around the country take these issues.  Matt Tyler of Vickers Engineering in New Troy, MI, appeared on CNBC to talk about the growth prospects for manufacturing in spite of the Washington political gamesmanship we're all enduring these days.  You can link to Matt's appearance here

Also, NTMA continues to stay focused on how to address the skills gap that is creating difficulty for manufacturers all around the country who seek qualified workers to fill high-skilled positions.  Recently in the media, a number of stories have been circulating suggesting that the skills gap does not really exist and that the problem instead relates to companies not paying enough to potential workers.

NTMA has been working hard to fight this misperception, put forward by academics like Peter Capelli at the Wharton School of Business.  As you can see in this story from a paper in Portland, Maine, the media is giving this narrative some attention -- and NTMA is fighting back.  We are reaching out to journalists to provide a more balanced view, and actively pushing for fresh stories that more fairly represent this issue.

There is a great deal of education to be done on this front both in Congress and in the media, but we think it's a fight worth having!