Manufacturing and COVID-19

by Alexa Kirsch, IEDC

The Hudson Institute, a think tank based in Washington D.C. has produced a video panel featuring three experts in manufacturing, and moderated by Thomas Duestererg - Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute and Member of Manufacturing Policy Initiative Advisory Board.

Panelists:

• Peter Anderson - Vice President of Global Supply Chain, Cummins Inc.
• Sridhar Kota - Herrick Professor of Engineering at the University of Michigan and the Founding Executive Director at MForesight: Alliance for Manufacturing Foresight
• Sue G. Smith - Vice President for the Technology & Applied Sciences Division and Corporate Executive for Advanced Manufacturing, Ivy Tech Community College

The panel focused on how COVID-19 is exposing weaknesses in manufacturing. One important point is that manufacturing is typically a globally focused business, but recently it has become a local focus as well. Because many manufacturing jobs are done overseas, Americans no longer have the skills and know-how to take positions in the manufacturing sector. This skills gap is difficult to solve.

Another issue raised is lack of funding for equipment, management and training. in communities to enhance and grow the manufacturing and engineering fields. Even if students and employees would like to strengthen their skillset and increase their knowledge of the field, the tools and education are not always made available to everyone. This is especially true for communities and colleges where there is not enough funding to supply that need. 

With these issues in mind, the panelists presented some solutions on how to combat these weaknesses. One solution was to possibly recruit talent and hire or contract out from the private sector in order to bring in more people into manufacturing and engineering jobs. This is assuming companies can afford to hire from the private sector and contractors. 

An interesting point that was brought up is that there is a need to change the perception and stigma of manufacturing. When people think of manufacturing, especially young people looking into career options, they think manufacturing is not a stable and attractive career opportunity. Specifically, there needs to be a focus on creating marketing to steer women towards not just manufacturing careers, but engineering careers as well. There was a shared agreement that women needed to be represented more in these fields. 

Finally, another solution was that the United States government needs to invest long-term in manufacturing and engineering. The argument was made that the United States invests too much in international manufacturing and engineering and is neglecting those industries in its own nation, thus causing a lack of funding for support, marketing, and funding. Furthermore, given the crisis at hand, the United States should invest specifically in the medical manufacturing and pharmaceutical industry.