Finish your week with the weekly roundup. Each week, we select a handful of great reads covering advanced manufacturing and the people that make it possible.
The President and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers made a statement about the signing of the US Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) AKA the new NAFTA. He reminds us that there are 2 million American jobs reliant on exports within North America. Timmons assures us that NAM will work with the administration and congress to implement and enforce USMCA.
Manufacturing industry sales have come a long way from traditional practices. Today, most customer's are operating on a "non-linear buyer journey." Lean management concepts are a great way to match the incentive plan to the sales process. The folks at Manufacturing.Net know that it is important to ensure that the sales team if motivated by the incentives offered and they sum up their suggestions in this article.
Read more from Manufacturing.Net
Non-degree credentials have become more and more popular as an alternative to a conventional college degree or even a certificate. No one really knows what the credentials or "badges" mean. Employers and job seekers alike have no way to distinguish which badges are meaningful. Generally speaking, the badges could be a useful way to train and upskill people specifically for manufacturing, but they have a long way to go.
Read more from Hechinger Report
IBM partnered with Wake Tech to role out meaningful digital badging courses that will help upskill more people to fill roles in manufacturing. It all started with a Blockchain capstone course that was needed to prepare people for a blockchain internship position in the Raleigh area. None of the local college and universities were offering the needed blockchain curriculum, so IBM developed the courses. Furthermore, the badges offer training for roles that are "new collar" (not blue, not white) positions which require real capabilities and skills, not just a standard degree.
There are 14,000 GM workers being laid off in the near future due to the plant closures. CNN Business reminds us that the manufacturing industry has been struggling to find skilled workers to fill jobs. In fact, there were reportedly 484,000 manufacturing openings in the month of September. New jobs are available to those who were laid off, but they certainly have their draw backs. Former GM workers will likely need to consider moving and/or taking a pay cut in their next role.
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