CICP News & Updates

Conexus President & CEO Steve Dwyer authored this piece on Inside Indiana Business last week on the need to upskill Indiana’s manufacturing and logistics workforce. A recent study from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce asserts that 60% of all U.S. jobs within the next decade will require some sort of post-secondary education – this trend certainly applies to manufacturing and logistics, an increasingly high-tech sector where advanced robotics and sophisticated supply chain management systems are now the norm. 

If Indiana fails to upgrade our educational pipeline to train the next generation of manufacturing and logistics employees, we’ll quickly find our position as the most manufacturing-intensive state, and the ‘Crossroads of America’ logistics hub, in serious jeopardy.

Indiana’s grade on manufacturing and logistics workforce: Incomplete.

Steve Dwyer – President & CEO, Conexus Indiana

Last month, Conexus Indiana and the Ball State Center for Business and Economic Research released our 2011 Manufacturing and Logistics Report Card. Each year, economists at Ball State pull together relevant economic data to ‘grade’ the vitality of Indiana’s manufacturing and logistics industries, analyzing a sector that collectively employ one of every four Hoosiers.

Manufacturing is leading Indiana’s economic recovery, and we score several A’s on this Report Card. We rank among the national leaders in per capita employment in both sectors. We benefit from a pro-growth tax climate, and are a winner in the global marketplace as measured by foreign investment and strong exports.

We’re barely average, however, in a critical area – Human Capital. The state’s ‘C’ grade is a step forward from last year’s C-, based on strong enrollment in community college programs and improved high school graduation rates. But Indiana’s adult population continues to rank among the least-educated in the nation, leaving Hoosier manufacturing and logistics firms struggling to find qualified applicants for available jobs as Baby Boomer workers leave the workforce in growing numbers.

This is especially troubling given the transition of manufacturing and logistics into the information-based economy. Once upon a time, employers grew their operations based on the availability of natural resources, proximity to other industrial centers and customers, and access to transportation infrastructure, with competitive tax and regulatory policies sweetening the pot. Indiana was well-positioned on all these, and prospered accordingly.

But global competition and market demands accelerated the push for productivity and innovation. The traditional assembly line (once a bold innovation in its own right) was gradually transformed by computerized equipment and robotic systems. Distribution centers evolved into modern supply chain operations, meeting the ‘just in time’ needs of customers around the world with track and trace technologies and enterprise management software.

As the industries changed, so did the jobs. And while location, infrastructure and business climate continue to be important factors, workforce readiness emerged as a top priority for growing companies. 

Manufacturing and logistics careers now demand advanced technical skills, technology savvy, troubleshooting and teamwork abilities. This means some education beyond high school – within the next decade, 60% of all jobs will require post-secondary education. The same trend holds true for manufacturing and logistics. Yet a recent study by Indiana University estimates that 60% of current Midwestern manufacturing workers have only a high school diploma, and Indiana’s plight is likely even worse.

So our ‘C’ grade in Human Capital does more than keep Indiana off the honor roll – it poses a direct threat to our competitiveness. We can (and do) have a great position as Crossroads of America, unparalleled access to highways, rail and maritime shipping, a strong manufacturing heritage, low taxes and an unprecedented hot streak on international investment. But if we aren’t preparing the next generation of Hoosier workers for high-tech manufacturing and logistics jobs, we’ll quickly lose our edge.

There’s a lot of good news in this year’s report. Indiana continues to rank among the most manufacturing and logistics-intensive states in the nation, helping us find our footing more quickly than many in this post-housing bubble, post-financial crisis economy. But it isn’t an exercise in self-congratulation – it’s a confirmation of the challenges we face in continuing to make and move products in the global knowledge economy.

The bottom line of this Report Card is clear – for Indiana’s younger workers, it’s time to head back to school and try to raise our manufacturing and logistics GPA.

(View the entire 2011 Manufacturing and Logistics Report Card at www.ConexusIndiana.com.)

Steve Dwyer is President & CEO of Conexus Indiana, an initiative focused on the workforce and other needs of the state’s manufacturing and logistics industries. He formerly served as Chief Operating Officer of Rolls-Royce North America.