The importance of manufacturing careers

- Why are advanced manufacturing skills so important? Well, it's estimated that $2.3 trillion of economic output were generated by the U.S. manufacturing sectors in the first three months of last year alone. - Manufacturing accounts for about 11% of the U.S. economy, and 9% of the U.S. workforce, but what's really interesting is the impact of manufacturing, sort of the ripple effect of manufacturing firms hits a third of the U.S. economy. So a third of people in the U.S. are either working in manufacturing or directly related businesses. - Of course, not every one of those jobs is on a factory floor, but it's clear that manufacturing is still a key driver of the U.S. economy. - Manufacturing is a very impactful part of the workforce and it's becoming ever increasingly so, so the people who are learning how to operate the machines that are making stuff are very valuable workers in our society. - As our economy grows, it's becoming harder and harder to find workers to fill these manufacturing jobs. Recent surveys recorded over 500,000 job openings in manufacturing in the U.S. and that number is expected to grow to over two million jobs in the next 10 years, as many people in the manufacturing workforce reach retirement age, and the U.S. economy continues to expand. - There's absolutely a shortage. There's a real skills gap. There's an aging out of the existing machinists in this, not only in Rhode Island, but throughout the country. We go on company tours, and it's an amazing picture there of a lot of people that are looking to head to the doors, head to the gates, that we have an employer we work with has almost 200 employees. They've told us within the next five years, they're going to have 60% of their employees are retiring. So over half of them are going to retire in five years. - This means that there's a lot of open job opportunities for people with the skills and the desire to work in manufacturing careers. These are good jobs too. According to recent data from the National Association of Manufacturers, the average manufacturing compensation was $84,800 per year, including pay and benefits. With manufacturing in the United States projected to grow in the foreseeable future, now is the perfect time for people curious about careers in manufacturing and related industries to get involved.