Advanced manufacturing, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the fabrication jobs in Connecticut, could add as many as 8,000 jobs a year in New England if industry players fully tap their resources.
That was the message Mike Reopel, principal of Deloitte Consulting Inc. in Boston, delivered Thursday at the EASTEC 2010 exposition in West Springfield, Mass., a gathering of East Coast manufacturers.
While the term “manufacturing” still conjures images of the old assembly-line format in dark and dirty facilities, advanced manufacturing involves highly skilled workers who fabricate complex products such as medical devices, semi-conductors, optics, measurement tools and aerospace gadgets.
“These employees are not the equivalent of a human robot. They are brains,” Reopel said. “These are $80K jobs, not $20K jobs. It is not retail; it is not health care.”
Advanced manufacturing companies can range from large ones like Pratt & Whitney to smaller firms specializing in items such as medical devices. A key to successful business and growth is for the individual companies to set up networks within their specialty to complement each other and lean on each other’s strengths, Reopel said.
New England already has a strong expertise and capability base among its workforce that gives the region a competitive advantage in drawing in new advanced manufacturing companies and business for those companies.
To achieve the potential growth of 8,000 jobs per year in the region, Reopel said challenges that must be overcome including rebranding the industry so it is not associated with traditional manufacturing negatives.
It also requires, he said, developing and educating a workforce; achieving state economic programs that make sense to entice more firms to the area; getting politicians in a regional mindset where what is good for one state is also good for another; and having the expertise in management to know how to capitalize on their opportunities.
“Advanced manufacturing still brings up images of old traditional manufacturing,” Reopel said. “They think it is low-skilled work that is mostly for immigrants, and most of it is sent to China. That is a misnomer.”
