BOSTON – Governor Deval Patrick today proclaimed this week as Advanced Manufacturing Week in Massachusetts, underscoring the administration’s support of the robust advanced manufacturing industry and its workforce throughout the Commonwealth. The week-long celebration coincides with national efforts to promote the role advanced manufacturing plays in the economy, with the third annual National Advanced Manufacturing Day being celebrated on October 3.
“The Commonwealth is a national leader in Advanced Manufacturing, and we want to keep it that way,” said Patrick. “By working with our partners in industry and academia, we are continuing to enhance the competitiveness of our robust advanced manufacturing industry, for today and the future.”
Massachusetts is home to over 7,000 manufacturers with 250,000 employees. Throughout the week, Patrick administration officials will participate in events that highlight the statewide effort to promote careers in advanced manufacturing and build awareness among manufacturers about the many programs in place to support them.
The Patrick administration is committed to supporting the growth of advanced manufacturing in Massachusetts, an industry that is expected to require 100,000 jobs in the next decade and offers careers in a sector with an average annual salary of $75,000. The week’s celebration builds on record investments in workforce training and education made by the Administration in recent years. In 2011, Patrick launched the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative (AMC), a partnership between industry and government to help build a globally competitive manufacturing industry in Massachusetts. Its five-point agenda brings together manufacturers, educators, academia, and other organizations to work on industry-identified priorities including promoting manufacturing; workforce and education; manufacturing innovation; the cost of doing business including energy management and sustainability; and access to capital resources.
The AMC’s AMP it Up! Program which launched in September 2012 and is operated by MassDevelopment, works to build awareness among young adults and their families on the opportunities for well-paying careers in manufacturing. Massachusetts-based nonprofit organizations that address education and workforce can apply for funding at www.ampitup.com. Across the Commonwealth in recognition of manufacturing week, the AMC engage manufacturers, schools and colleges to participate in open houses, public tours, roundtable discussions, career workshops and other events hosted by manufacturers.
“Massachusetts is on the cutting-edge among states in supporting the growth of 21st century manufacturing,” said Housing and Economic Development Secretary Greg Bialecki. “Together with our regional partners, we are ensuring the next generation is equipped with the skills and knowledge needed for careers in advanced manufacturing.”
In June 2013, Patrick announced the creation of the Advanced Manufacturing Regional Partnership Academy, a first-in-the-Nation program designed to meet the manufacturing industry’s future workforce needs. The Academy provides hands-on learning opportunities, and tool and peer-education to regional leaders, helping eliminate one of the industry’s chief concerns of finding well-trained employees to fill available jobs in manufacturing. Last month, Patrick signed an economic development package that included $12 million for the establishment of the Middle Skills Job Training Grant Fund. The fund will provide grants to vocational-technical schools and community college to support advanced manufacturing, mechanical and technical skills, hospitality and information technology industries training. The fund aims to train 4,000 workers over the next four years to address the workforce and talent pipeline needs of employers in Massachusetts.
“I am proud that we are committed to supporting manufacturing through the Commonwealth’s vocational-technical high schools, realizing this is an essential area to advance our workforce for the future,” said Secretary of Education Matthew Malone. “We are making strategic investments so that our students graduate highly skilled and prepared to compete in the manufacturing industry.”
“Jobs in advanced manufacturing help the Commonwealth build upon its competitive advantages of a diverse economy and highly educated workforce,” said Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Rachel Kaprielian. “The record investments the Patrick Administration has made in workforce development and skills training in this new sector will create opportunities for generations of workers to come.”
“Massachusetts is where America’s Industrial Revolution began 200 years ago. We’re now witnessing a new revolution led by advanced manufacturing leaders such as robotics, fiber optics, laser, and solar energy,” noted Senator Richard T. Moore, Senate Chair of the Legislature’s Manufacturing Caucus.
“Manufacturing in the Commonwealth accounts for more than 10 percent of the GSP and encompasses a wide range of industries,” said Representative John V. Fernandes (D-Milford) founder and House Chair of the Legislative Manufacturing Caucus and AMC Board member. “In addition, these manufacturers are constantly generating innovative solutions to challenges, fueling growth not just in the manufacturing sector, but in many other sectors of our economy. I am consistently impressed by the members of this this important and vibrant industry. “
“For too long, Massachusetts took its manufacturers for granted,” said Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative Co-Chair Mitch Tyson, Principal, Tyson Associates. “Thanks to the efforts of the AMC and the manufacturers that it represents, events will take place throughout the Commonwealth on this National Manufacturing Day to showcase top-notch companies, highly-skilled workforces, and cutting-edge offerings. I especially hope that students will participate in National Manufacturing Day and learn about exciting careers in this thriving industry.”
“Over the last three years, the Commonwealth and the private sector have worked together in an unprecedented partnership to insure that advanced manufacturing in Massachusetts gets the attention that a sector of its import deserves,” said Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative Co-Chair Ed Leyden, Owner, Ben Franklin Design and Manufacturing Inc. “The AMC has held high-profile public events and produced tangible resources that increase the prospects that advanced manufacturers will continue to thrive by selling their highly-engineered, world-leading products.”
