From The Oregonian, “Intel snaps up PCC Rock Creek grads as it feeds record chip demand“:

Intel, feeding record demand for its computer chips, has hired nearly all of the 15 graduates from this June’s class in Portland Community College’s microelectronics program and is looking for more skilled graduates.

The company is enjoying banner sales and is building a new, $3 billion research factory called D1X in Hillsboro. That facility — known as a fab in the chip industry — will employ 1,000 when it opens in 2013.

Intel has 15,000 Oregon workers — more than any other business. And the California-based company plans to add more than 4,000 U.S. jobs this year alone.

Coverage …

• Bizjournals.com, “Intel looks outside Oregon for workers
• Portland Tribune, “Intel warns business alliance: state must value education
• OregonBusiness.com, “On the Scene: Intel exec calls for ed investment”

By a vote of 412-10, the House passed H.R. 4072, the AMERICA Works Act. The NAM sent a “Key Vote” letter to the House in support. John Engler, president of the NAM, said after passage:

American manufacturers frequently cite the need for a skilled workforce as among their top priorities. Employers rely on the right workers with the right skills at the right time to drive innovation, increase productivity and remain globally competitive. Workers need the technical skills to access employment and advancement opportunities. The best way to prepare today’s students and transitioning workers for the modern workforce is to offer training in nationally portable, industry-recognized certifications.

Skills certification plays an important role in a national economy where mobility of the labor force is critical. If you’re a young, adventurous and skilled manufacturing worker who wants to leave the East Coast and strike out for the boom economy of North Dakota, you could take your credentials and say, “See, my training — my credentials — demonstrates my abilities. I’ll be an excellent employee.”

Earlier posts…

• Sept. 28, “H.R. 4072, Improving Workforce Training, Skills“
• Nov. 18, 2009, “Workforce Training, the Next Step — National Credentials“

From the University of Phoenix, “University of Phoenix Teams With The Manufacturing Institute to Educate Workforce to Meet the Challenges of the 21st Century“:

PHOENIX, March 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Today, University of Phoenix announced an innovative partnership with The Manufacturing Institute (“Institute”), the non-profit, non-partisan education and research affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). Through this educational alliance, University of Phoenix will develop curriculum relevant to today’s manufacturing workforce that aligns to the NAM-Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System (SCS). SCS describes the competencies, certifications and educational attainment levels appropriate to manufacturing careers…[snip]

University of Phoenix will offer programs that enable working learners to advance in their careers while acquiring the skills and competencies in the SCS, which were developed by the Institute and endorsed by NAM. These programs are being specifically developed with the working learner in mind, giving students greater access and flexibility to obtain advanced degrees in a convenient manner. With a greater emphasis on strategic planning and new technologies, the curriculum also ensures that the manufacturing sector stays current and competitive in a global market.

“This unique alliance will provide an education with real-world relevancy that meets the needs for high-tech manufacturing – graduates will gain the knowledge and skills most needed in the manufacturing industry, both today and tomorrow,” said Dr. Brian Lindquist, Dean, University of Phoenix School of Business.

Also, Phoenix Business Journal, “University of Phoenix, Manufacturing Institute launch program.”

Or at least one of them.

At Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s remarks about his “Jobs Initiative” Monday at Ace Clearwater in Torrance, company President Kellie Johnson spoke. Here’s what she had to say:

Thanks to our elected officials and a deep appreciation to Governor Schwarzenegger for being here today and for expanding the jobs training programs. I believe that it sends a message to employers throughout the state that our government is our partner and is working with us.

But more importantly, the expansion of the jobs training program is about the people of this great state, for without them companies like Ace Clearwater wouldn’t be able to innovate, we couldn’t compete and we wouldn’t be able to win. Operating in California requires us to have the most productive workforce in the world. Ace Clearwater is a family-owned business, third generation. We’ve been around for 60 years. We wouldn’t be here today without the talented and skilled people that make up this company.

The Governor mentioned that we have been blessed with tremendous opportunity and, as a result, Ace Clearwater has been experiencing tremendous growth. We’ve hired approximately 100 people but we continue to have openings that we can’t fill because we can’t find the skills that are necessary to compete in today’s very complicated economy. The increasing technical knowledge and multi-skilled natured of today’s advanced manufacturing sector has wiped out the traditional white collar, blue collar and unskilled categories of work. The expanded jobs training program will help employers train people with the skills they need to compete in today’s global economy.

Johnson is a member of the National Association of Manufacturers’ Executive Committee and is set to become chairman of the California Manufacturers and Technology Association. The CMTA’s president and CEO, Jack Stewart, also emphasized the importance of workforce training in remarks at Torrance, citing a study the association worked on with the Milken Institue, “Manufacturing 2.0: A More Prosperous California.” Jack said: (continue reading…)

Various reports from the visit of John Engler, president of the National Association of Manufacturers, to Indiana last week. He visited the Honda plant in Greensburg, addressed the Japan Society of Indiana, and taped a segment on Inside Indiana Business.

Indiana Chamber blog, “

Insides Indiana Business video, “Top Story: Manufacturing in Indiana”

The Greensburg Daily News, “Manufacturing Leader Tours The Future At Honda,” reports Engler’s comments emphasizing workforce development:

Engler felt Honda was a case study for manufacturers in America and shows how job growth can be easily spurred with a little investment. For NAM, education has become key. With initiatives, like EcO15 in Indiana, students are learning skills to make successful lives for themselves.

“Even in a recession, you still have people retire,” Engler said.

Offering young people the training to fill those positions immediately will allow them to grow and build a life and career. Through that training, they can work and earn money as they pursue a degree to advance to the next rung of the career ladder. That, he noted, could be seen at HMIN. The workforce came from a manufacturing background and with a little training are able to excel in a complicated assembly facility such as HMIN. With education at the forefront for hundreds of thousands of hard-working Hoosiers and the state’s continued support of manufacturing, Engler felt Indiana would continue to be the leader in the industry.

“We think Indiana is poised to be big leaders in this,” Engler said. “You look at the leadership here and the investment attracting industry to the state, I think Indiana is doing very well. There’s been a laser lite focus on business in this state and the right policies are in place.”

EcO15 refers to Economic Opportunity by 2015, an education, training and economic development initiative.

From The Associated Press, “Labor agency: La. needs more 2-year college grads“:

BATON ROUGE, La. –Suggestions from a Jindal administration official Monday that Louisiana has a “surplus” of four-year college degrees rankled members of a commission looking at ways to overhaul the state’s public college systems.

Curt Eysink, executive director of the Louisiana Workforce Commission, the state’s labor department, told the commission that Louisiana needs more students enrolled in — and graduating from — vocational training and community college programs.

Eysink said there are more graduates with four-year college degrees than the state can employ in their fields while the state has a shortage of workers needed for skilled labor jobs. He presented occupational forecasting data that showed the top growth jobs projected for the state included ticket-takers, home health aides, retail salespersons and nurses.

Not sure how that list of jobs in the last sentence was selected. You probably don’t need a two-year degree to be a ticket-taker.

But Eysink and the commission have identified real workforce trends that are affecting students and manufacturers nationwide. Skilled jobs, the kind you find more and more in high-tech manufacturing, often do not require a four-year degree. Two years degrees, vocational certification and apprenticeships can serve students with training that not only leads them into well-compensated careers but also aligns with their individual skills and interests.

In the story, Arits Terrell, chairman of the Louisiana Board of Regents asks, “Can you ever have too many four-year degrees?”

Yes! Of course! In fact, AEI scholar Charles Murray wrote a valuable book on the issue, “Real Education: Four Simple Truths for Bringing America’s Schools Back to Reality.” In a 2007 Wall Street Journal op-ed, “What’s Wrong With Vocational School?,” Murray anticipated Chairman Terrell’s argument:

Large numbers of those who are intellectually qualified for college also do not yearn for four years of college-level courses. They go to college because their parents are paying for it and college is what children of their social class are supposed to do after they finish high school. They may have the ability to understand the material in Economics 1 but they do not want to. They, too, need to learn to make a living–and would do better in vocational training.

Combine those who are unqualified with those who are qualified but not interested, and some large proportion of students on today’s college campuses–probably a majority of them–are looking for something that the four-year college was not designed to provide.

Terrell’s comments could well reflect a common point of view about higher education. To many state officials and people who earn their paychecks from a university system, students equal income. But yes, you can have too many four-year degrees, especially when the degrees serve neither the student nor the demands of the economy.

See also:

• Louisiana Postsecondary Education Review Commission homepage.
• Kansas City Star, “Manufacturing summit looks at shortage of skilled workers.”
• Gov. Jindal’s Aug. 11 remarks to the Louisiana Postsecondary Education Review Commission.

From The Montgomery Advertiser, “Manufacturing group has eye on the future“:

The manufacturing industry in Alabama is putting out the help-wanted sign, but the industry isn’t looking for adults.

The industry is looking for the bright, young minds of the future, according to Ronnie Boles.

Boles is the president of Huntsville-based General and Automotive Machine Shop Inc. and has worked for the past three years to launch the “Dream it, Do it” initiative in the Tennessee Valley.

On Wednesday, members of the state Workforce Planning Council got a look at the program that serves nine counties in Tennessee and 14 counties in Alabama that could one day be a model for the state.

Here’s a map of the Tennessee Valley region and the educational and training institutions involved in Dream It Do It.

And the website for General and Automotive Machine Shop Inc. is, sensibly enough: www.generalautomotivemachineshop.com/

The Arizona Republic publishes a thorough, well-reported story on the demand for skilled employees in manufacturing, “Tech skills bring way to cash in on a career“:

Right out of high school, Rhett Sweeney got a job with full benefits as a precision machinist. At age 20, he bought a $150,000 house in Mesa.

Two months after graduating from a trade school, Justin Griswold started working as a diesel mechanic and bought a house in Buckeye and a new truck. This year, at 28, he expects to earn $55,000.

A strong grasp of technology enables these young men to earn middle-class wages in what were traditionally blue-collar jobs, and their career choices demonstrate how people can thrive in the 21st-century economy without a four-year college degree. 

Computer technology has revolutionized the workplace, but nowhere have the changes been as dramatic as in jobs that don’t require bachelor’s degrees.

The NAM/Manufacturing Institute-inspired campaign, “Dream It. Do It.” is mentioned.