Career Voyages, the result of a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Education, is a website that targets students, parents, career changers, and advisors to provide them with information on high growth, in-demand occupations along with the skills and education needed to attain those jobs.

Specifically, in the U.S. Advanced Manufacturing industry, there are approximately 16 million manufacturing jobs. Of this total number, perhaps 8 million might be considered advanced manufacturing positions. A U.S. manufacturing sub-sector is considered advanced if it requires highly skilled managers and workers who are prepared to deal with new and evolving technology for the design, engineering, and production of goods.

Career Voyages shows interested users what advanced manufacturing careers are out there and what type of education is required for those careers.

Career Voyages also houses InDemand magazine which highlights careers in the advanced manufacturing industry. Available in both a web version and downloadable PDF, this magazine is an excellent resource for exploring or demonstrating the variety of manufacturing careers.

A fact book released in October by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) spotlights the latest U.S. government statistics, NAM economic analysis and corporate success stories about manufacturing in America. Facts About Modern Manufacturing is available at www.nam.org/facts.

Former Michigan governor and NAM president John Engler calls Facts About Modern Manufacturing “…an essential resource for anyone interested in the future of manufacturing in America, from policymakers and the media, to educators and political candidates who need to know how manufacturing supports their state’s economy and how they can support manufacturing.”

Sponsored by Toyota Motor North America, Facts About Modern Manufacturing “…documents how manufacturing drives economic growth, productivity and innovation in America,” according to Jerry Jasinowski, president of The Manufacturing Institute (the research and education arm of the NAM). “Manufacturing provides great benefits to the U.S. economy and our quality of life, and offers a broad range of high-paying, interesting jobs with average annual compensation of nearly $65,000 for young people with the right skills and education.”

NAM, through their Dream It! Do It! campaign has been instrumental in the effort to promote the image of modern manufacturing in the media in order to attract highly skilled workers to the field. News in the popular media often portrays an unfairly dire picture of manufacturing, focusing on plant closings and lay-offs, but as the Facts About Modern Manufacturing shows, there is much good news for manufacturing educators and professionals. For example, the manufacturing sector of the U.S. economy:

• boasts wages and benefits approximately 25 percent higher than non-manufacturing jobs

• made the highest contribution of all sectors to real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth between 2001 and today

• accounts for more than 70 percent of private sector R&D

• increased its productivity rate by more than 50 percent over the past decade

• makes up more than 60 percent of U.S. exports (agricultural exports amount to about $50 billion a year, while manufacturers export that much each month)

• has a greater multiplier effect on the rest of the economy than does any other sector; each manufacturing dollar generates an additional $1.37 in economic activity

There are challenges to be met by the manufacturing industry, and these too are discussed in Facts About Modern Manufacturing, but there is much positive information about which the public needs to be made aware.

The Advancing Innovations in Engineering Education: Ideas for a New Age 2006 conference will be held November 1-3 at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Florida. The goal of the conference, which is co-sponsored by the NCME, NJCATE, and MATEC, is to share best practices and exchange ideas to support and enhance manufacturing and engineering technician education in the 21st century.

This year's topics include: The Next Frontiers: Programs in Manufacturing and Emerging Technologies; Innovative Technical Programs: Methodology and Pedagogy; and Strategies in Recruitment and Retention. Ultimately, Advancing Innovations will focus on inspiring creativity, exploring emerging technologies, attracting students, and marketing engineering technologies.

Proposals for presentations are currently being accepted. Proposals must include: 1) a fifty word abstract (to be included in program agenda), 2) a one or two page description of the presentation (to be published in the conference proceedings), and 3) a short (1 paragraph) bio of the presenter including contact information. Deadline for submissions is October 10.

The registration fee for the conference is $199 which includes complimentary hotel accommodations for two nights.

Published by the NCME. Copyright 2006. All rights reserved.
MERC and the NCME are funded by the National Science Foundation.
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.