LANSING – Speaking to the Detroit Economic Club, Governor Rick Snyder and former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson urged Michigan economic leaders to become more globally connected.
That includes Michigan companies reaching out more for international trade, and having more international companies invest in the state, the two said at the meeting at Ford Field in downtown Detroit.
Paulson said an expanded international focus will be especially important as China is switching its economy to be more dependent on consumption and less on exporting. Developing contacts with Chinese businesses will be critical to helping build those investments, both Paulson and Snyder said.
Paulson said the state, and particularly Detroit, has hurt in terms of investment.
Snyder said the world still looks at the state as if it was struggling through the Great Recession, and it is important to promote the state’s improved economy.
Snyder said one way that will happen is to promote greater skills in manufacturing and a better trained workforce.
Paulson said that trained workers are a premium around the world, and international firms take note of where skilled workers are.
Snyder said he hopes Michigan will be a leader in skilled trades education, as the nation is in “a crisis” in terms of skilled trades education.
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