Conservatively, based even on outdated definitions of what manufacturing jobs look like, manufacturing supports more than 18 million jobs. As the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is demonstrating through our nationwide State of Manufacturing Tour, this is an industry that is about upscaling, upskilling and future-proofing jobs for all Americans—a dynamic environment that supports not just today’s jobs but also tomorrow’s. While traditional assembly line jobs exist, the industry is moving rapidly toward jobs with irreplaceable human skills, such as creativity, ingenuity and critical thinking. Yes, these are manufacturing jobs, too—and whether they’re filled by people with in-house training at a manufacturing company or through partnerships with community colleges, or by men and women who are ready to apply old skills to a new industry, they are a large part of what makes manufacturing move. And as we look forward to the future, there’s something many discussions also miss: More than 350,000 manufacturing jobs are available right now.

Source: Forbes March 08, 2017 19:13 UTC