Reinventing Manufacturing
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Strengthening California’s Environment for <strong>Manufacturing</strong><br />
Recommendations to Enhance California’s<br />
<strong>Manufacturing</strong> Workforce<br />
Initiate apprenticeship programs to build skills for new<br />
workers and to train those that are changing fields.<br />
Corporate apprenticeship programs can be used to<br />
draw younger workers into the manufacturing field in<br />
California. By combining classroom training with onthe-job<br />
experience, the costs of training new employees<br />
for manufacturing skills can be split between the<br />
educational system and industry. Germany employs<br />
the best practice apprenticeship model under which<br />
two-thirds of the country’s manufacturing workers<br />
are trained through partnerships among companies,<br />
vocational schools, and trade guilds. 31 Germany’s<br />
system is part of the reason the country’s youth<br />
unemployment rate is below 8 percent, less than<br />
half of the rate in the US. 32 Switzerland offers another<br />
successful example of public-private cooperation to<br />
support manufacturing and other skills development<br />
through apprenticeships.<br />
Domestically, the Department of Labor supports<br />
public-private partnerships that establish apprenticeship<br />
programs in advanced manufacturing. At the<br />
state level, South Carolina has been able to stimulate<br />
apprenticeships through a $1,000 tax credit per<br />
year per apprentice. 33 A similar initiative in California<br />
can be tailored to small and medium manufacturing<br />
enterprises that cannot otherwise afford the in-house<br />
training programs that will be needed to bridge skill<br />
and generational gaps going forward.<br />
Support state-funded technical education programs<br />
through sustained funding connected to metrics<br />
for effectiveness.<br />
The 2015–2016 California state budget established<br />
the Career Technical Education Incentive Grant Program<br />
to spur partnerships between school districts,<br />
colleges, and businesses. The budget provides $400<br />
million, $300 million, and $200 million in each of the<br />
next three years, respectively, for competitive grants.<br />
These grants would require a dollar-for-dollar match<br />
and proof of effectiveness across a range of outcomes<br />
such as graduation rates, course completion<br />
rates, and the number of students receiving industry<br />
credentials. 34 Additionally, the 2015–2016 California<br />
state budget extended the Career Technical Pathways<br />
Initiative by one year, which will sustain a program<br />
that has been in existence since 2005 and can be<br />
instrumental in promoting advanced manufacturing<br />
career exploration for community college students.<br />
Attention should also be paid to the sustainability of<br />
these programs after state funding expires.<br />
Adopt a statewide certification for advanced manufacturing<br />
skills across strategically selected schools.<br />
California can develop a manufacturing certification<br />
model that allows students to sequence credentials<br />
over time to build comprehensive advanced manufacturing<br />
skills. These certifications should range from<br />
machining and tool and die making to maintenance<br />
technician and quality control skills. They should<br />
also be compatible with the National Association<br />
of Manufacturers’ skills certification system, so that<br />
the credential can be transferred to work in other<br />
states. Designating strategic community colleges<br />
as “manufacturing schools” could also sharpen<br />
the manufacturing focus across the state and give<br />
regional industry participants a more streamlined<br />
means to participate in curriculum development<br />
and to recruit future workers.<br />
Pursue higher goals for incorporating STEM education<br />
and its associated career pathways into curricula<br />
for elementary and high schools.<br />
Educational objectives in Science, Technology,<br />
Engineering, and Math (STEM) continue to be<br />
high priorities in school districts around the state.<br />
Programs that bring robotics, machining, and other<br />
applied technologies into K–12 classrooms can<br />
begin to fill the talent pipelines needed for advanced<br />
manufacturing in the state. By reaching students at<br />
an earlier age, these types of programs can provide<br />
awareness of the options available to students who<br />
may not wish to pursue a four-year degree, and these<br />
programs can increase the knowledge and appeal of<br />
manufacturing careers.<br />
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