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For quite some time now, conventional wisdom has held that America’s manufacturing sector has been in decline. This myth is a familiar one – “manufacturing is shrinking,” the story goes; “we’re losing this fundamental part of our economy.” Nothing could be further from the truth. The rumors of manufacturing’s demise in America are highly premature. Certainly, the number of jobs in American manufacturing has declined since its peak in the 1970s. But while the number of manufacturing jobs has decreased, the amount of wealth and value created by that sector of our economy has been growing. Productivity in our manufacturing sector has increased, as have the wages for the workers.The actual, adjusted dollars generated by the manufacturing sector of the economy has gone up almost every one of the last twenty years. And, in fact, between the 1980s and 1990s, the average annual productivity growth in manufacturing grew by 37 percent. So, rather than seeing the glass as half empty, we see the glass as at least half full with the potential to be overflowing: I look at manufacturing today and I see higher wages and the potential for greater profits and lower prices. We are now producing more goods than we ever have. At the same time, the service and financial sectors of the major industrialized nations are growing because our well-educated, affluent workforces have created more demand for products and higher productivity. As more wealth is created, new businesses and industries develop as a result of this prosperity.
We’re seeing this trend play out as productivity increases due to exciting technological innovations. And in states like ours, the upward trend of the actual dollars that the manufacturing sector of the economy generates will continue. This is especially true here in Georgia because of the partnership and relationship between our businesses, our manufacturers, and Georgia’s Technical College System. The partnership between Georgia’s Technical College System and the manufacturing industry in the state has never been more important. The technological advances that drive the manufacturing industry in the 21st Century demand a well-qualified and highly-trained workforce. Georgia’s Technical College System and Quick Start continue to partner with manufacturing and industry to insure that Georgia’s workforce meets the new and ever-changing demands of Georgia’s business needs. Georgia is prepared for this transitioning economy because Georgia’s technical colleges are well positioned for it. Over the past 10 years, we have prepared for this. Due to the fact that Quick Start works with so many companies new to the state — companies that are successful, growing, and innovative — we have been able to keep our system updated and current. Our programs have developed with our changing times, and we now include a tremendous amount of service and financial sector offerings. In addition, our manufacturing programs are so responsive to the marketplace and so highly advanced that there is an ever-increasing demand for the training that we provide the workers of Georgia. Our Certified Manufacturing Specialist and Certified Customer Service Specialist programs are developing a trained workforce that is strengthening both the manufacturing and service sectors in our state. Other specialty certificate programs that we develop to respond to the needs of various business sectors owe their success to our ability to put excellent, well designed, and thoroughly tested programs into Georgia’s technical colleges at a pace that matches the speed of advancing technology. DTAE works with industry to develop the type of highly trained workforce that is necessary to keep Georgia’s manufacturing industry growing. We all know that computers and machines operated by computer systems do more and more of the things that used to be done by hand. This is especially true in our state’s manufacturing industry, which remains competitive in the global marketplace because of technological advances that cut costs and increase productivity. As the machines and computers that are now fundamental to manufacturing become more complex, our technical colleges provide the skills and training needed to prepare workers for the jobs being created in these high-performance workplaces. The skills and expertise needed to work in manufacturing today are not found in our high school graduates, nor are they always found in our university graduates, unless they have had special training. The skills needed to keep this fundamental part of our economy productive and competitive are found in our technical college system.We are providing the workforce that Georgia’s manufacturing industry needs to continue to grow and succeed in the 21st Century.
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The Georgia Department of Industry,Trade and Tourism serves business and industry in Georgia; so does our technical college system. Our summer issue focuses on how we work together. From
the Commissioner Published
quarterly by the Kenneth
H. Breeden, Editor:
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These
are all characteristics of the new global economy, and as we move into
the 21st century, new relationships are being formed between developed
and developing countries. As poorer countries enter the global marketplace,
the main economic sectors in which they can be competitive are industry
and manufacturing. And as more basic manufacturing moves to developing
countries, the manufacturing sectors of economies like ours become ever
more technical, specialized, and productive. 
