Yesterday, Representative Joe Walsh (R-IL) filed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act which adds industry recognized credentials to the Department of Defense Pilot Program on Receipt of Civilian Credentialing for Military Occupational Skills. One of the greatest challenges facing manufacturers today is this inability to find the skilled talent needed for today’s modern manufacturing. The skills obtained in the military are highly sought after in the private sector; however it is often difficult to align those skills with civilian job descriptions. It is our hope that this pilot program, with the inclusion of industry-recognized credentials, will begin to bridge that gap.

By using industry-recognized credentials as the basis for identifying competencies, separating military will know exactly what jobs they are qualified for and employers will have a better understanding of which candidates possess the skills required.  The NAM supports Congressman Walsh’s amendment and urges its adoption.

Across the nation, manufacturers are unified in emphasizing the need for a strong technical workforce to meet the needs of advanced manufacturing. Today the Senate Subcommittee on Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion held a hearing to highlight that need titled, “Promoting American Competitiveness: Filling Jobs Today and Training Workers for Tomorrow.”  We are pleased to see the subcommittee attempt to address this serious concern.

The President of the Manufacturing Institute, Jennifer McNelly, testified at the hearing, highlighting that the best way to train workers for job in an advanced technical economy is to ground that learning in industry-based credentials in coordination with secondary and post-secondary educational institutions. The testimony, which was well-received by the Committee, pointed out,”… we need a new strategy for our manufacturing workforce, grounded in industry standards, with new and renewed cooperation with industry, education, economic development, and the public workforce investment system.”

As Subcommittee Chair, Senator Klobucharstated in her opening statement, “…this is not your grandfather’s voc-tech.”  Growing our national technical workforce will keep manufacturers competitive and growing in the US.”

Earlier today in a 17-5 vote,  the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee passed HR 452, which would repeal a contentious provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB).  Beginning in 2013, the IPAB will make annual recommendations based on a defined growth rate in Medicare and its recommendations would automatically go into effect without the approval of Congress. The intended effect of the Board is to reduce Medicare growth rates through adjustments in reimbursements and coverage, but the real effect would be additional cost shifting to the private sector and slowing down the adoption of innovative therapies.

The NAM believes cutting Medicare reimbursements is not an effective way to achieve savings and it does nothing to address the long-term structural problems in the system. Put simply, the more costs are cut in Medicare, the more health care providers need to charge private plans to meet their costs.

In addition, limiting access to new therapies will stifle private sector innovation and serve as a disincentive to conduct research and development. Perhaps even more concerning, all of this will be under the control of an unelected body. The NAM believes reforming the system is what must be done, not simply relying on reductions in reimbursements and constructing roadblocks to the advancement of medical treatments.

It’s well known that manufacturers are facing a skills gap and need access to skilled talent to innovate and retain competitiveness. While developing the domestic pipeline of skilled labor is the utmost priority for manufacturers, we are still in need of global talent to remain competitive and grow the economy. 

As it stands today, each nation has access to no more than 7% of the total green cards the United States issues on an annual basis – however individuals with highly skilled talent in demand are not equally distributed globally.  This creates significant barriers for manufacturers, whose options for maintaining and promoting valued employees are limited by this arbitrary cap. By phasing out the per-country limits, equally-qualified visa applicants would be considered on a first come-first served basis and employers would have greater flexibility to keep talented individuals in the US.
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A solution to this problem exists in H.R. 3012, the “Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2011,” which amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to phase out and eliminate the per country limits for employment based visas and places more emphasis on employer demand.  The bill is being considered by the House today.  We hope that it will be passed as a good step toward developing the workforce that manufacturers need.

Late last month Senator Kay Hagan introduced the AMERICA Works Act in the Senate. The bill was also introduced in the House back in early April by Rep. Donnelly (D-IN), Platts (R-PA), and Boren (D-OK). Manufacturers have a long record of supporting this legislation, which is a realistic approach to education and workforce training. The legislation simply directs existing public funds towards training in industry-recognized, national portable credentials.

Recently, President Obama highlighted the NAM endorsed Skills Certification system in an effort to credential 500,000 students in the next five years. This legislation would play a pivotal role in fostering this effort.

Many manufacturers are still finding it difficult to find skilled workers to fill job vacancies. The AMERICA Works Act will help provide educational and career opportunities for workers and help increase productivity, innovation and help improve manufacturers’ competitiveness. 

We will continue to urge the House and Senate to pass the AMERICA Works Act, a vital piece of legislation to aid in our economic recovery.

Christine Scullion is director of human resources policy, National Association of Manufacturers.

New legislation that seeks to address the serious shortage of skilled workers that hampers U.S. economic growth was introduced in Congress this week, and the bills include a welcome endorsement of national and portable skills certification.

Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) are sponsoring S. 665, the Strengthening Employment Clusters to Organized Regional Success Act, or SECTORS Act. The House version is H.R. 1240, introduced by Reps. David Loebsack (D-IA) and Todd Russell Platts (R-PA).

The bill provides grants to partnerships among institutions of industry, higher education, organized labor, and workforce boards to develop regional plans to strengthen local industries, especially those with high growth potential. These plans would support coordinated workforce training programs meant to to address shortages of skilled workers in those industries.

The bill also supports industry recognized, nationally portable certifications, such as the NAM-Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification system, now being put into place in community colleges across 31 states.

While the National Association of Manufacturers has some concerns about specific provisions of this legislation, we generally support the idea of promoting industry sectors and are very pleased with the emphasis on the use of industry portable, nationally recognized certifications. Certification systems give new and transitioning workers a way to gain and demonstrate skills that are marketable in the workplace. Certification also gives employers confidence that they are hiring people who have the skills necessary for advanced manufacturing.

The SECTORS Act represents a good, bipartisan efforts to tackle one of the major issues affecting manufacturers, the shortage of skilled workers. The NAM looks forward to working with legislation’s sponsors to improve the bill to ensure the United States has the best prepared and most competitive workforce in the world.

News releases…

• “Sens. Brown, Snowe Introduce Bill to Spur Clusters-Based Job Growth“
• “Platts Pushes Legislation to Help Job Creators Find Skilled Workers“

Crossposted from Compete America, “Making a Commitment to U.S. Education and Workforce Development“:

As a member of Compete America, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) supports the retention of highly educated, foreign-born talent for the advancement of America’s 21st century workforce. Equally important, the Manufacturers, along with all Compete America members, are dedicated to encouraging the development of “home grown” talent so the United States can compete in the 21st century economy.

Our country is experiencing a deficit of American students and workers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields. According to the National Science Board’s Science and Engineering Indicators 2010, about five percent of all bachelor’s degrees are in engineering in the United States, compared to 20 percent in Asia and about one-third in China. If we want to compete in the new global economy, a crucial step will be generating more domestic talent for these in-demand careers. We and the members of Compete America are doing something about that. (continue reading…)

One bill that should definitely not be overlooked among the 85 measures on today’s House suspension calendar is H.R.4072, the AMERICA Works Act. In fact, this bill stands out for embracing an important approach toward training that offers opportunities both to manufacturers and manufacturing employees.

Each year the federal government invests billions of dollars in workforce training programs with a limited impact. This bill responds by giving priority to education and training funds that lead toward skills credentials that offer real value in the workplace for both workers and employers. The legislation also recognizes the need for a strong technical workforce in America and the value of industry-recognized, nationally portable credentials such as the NAM-Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System developed by The Manufacturing Institute.

Employers rely on workers with the right skills to drive innovation, productivity and global competitiveness. As manufacturers continue to lead the economic recovery and job creation in the United States, they need a skilled workforce. The Manufacturing Skills Certification System provides new and transitioning workers a clear pathway to in-demand skills so they can prepare for good, high-paying jobs in manufacturing. We urge the House to pass this legislation and the Senate to act quickly on this important legislation.

More …

Introductory statement by Rep. Walter Minnick (D-ID), Nov. 18, 2009, “Minnick authors major job-training bill,” which included a statement of support from Emily DeRocco, NAM senior vice president and head of the Manufacturing Institute.

In tough economic times with high unemployment and the loss of jobs, it is difficult to focus on workforce-skills development. In reality, we have no better time. True economic reform means not only righting our economic ship, but also pursuing the strategies that will ensure we maintain our manufacturing competitiveness and provide the best possible pathways to employment in high-quality, middle-class jobs for all workers. We commend Congressman Minnick and his colleagues for introducing this bill, which will help ensure both new and transitioning workers have the education and skills necessary to succeed in the 21st century manufacturing economy.