DETROIT – For the eighth consecutive year, demand for advanced manufacturing workers in Michigan increased, this time by 19 percent from October 2016 through March 2017.
Online job postings increased from 29,090 to 34,836, according to a new report from LIFT – Lightweight Innovations For Tomorrow. More than 700,000 professionals now work in light weighting-related fields in Michigan.
The LIFT quarterly reports, highlighting employment trends, top jobs, and required skills in advanced manufacturing, are completed with research and analysis from the Workforce Intelligence Network of Southeast Michigan (WIN) and cover each of the states in LIFT’s region, including Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee.
“With demand across the region continuing to gain momentum in 2017, we see a direct, positive correlation between demand and employment, leading to the strong employment numbers reported,” said Emily DeRocco, education and workforce development director, LIFT. “In today’s age of technology-infused advanced manufacturing, addressing the skills gap through coordinated efforts between industry and education will be instrumental in aligning workers’ preparedness with job
opportunities.”
The top in-demand lightweighting-related occupations in Michigan in Q1 2017 were: Maintenance and Repair Workers (4,252 postings), Laborers and Freight, Stock and Material Movers (2,932 postings), Mechanical Engineers (2,408 postings), Electrical Engineers (1,814 postings) and Production Workers (1,659 postings).
“Advanced manufacturing employer demand in Michigan continues to surpass the rest of the light weighting region in 2017,” said Tom Crampton, Executive Dean, Mott Community College. “As a strong, statewide economic driver, we must connect untapped potential with the rapidly growing need for an upskilled and educated talent pipeline.”
LIFT, one of the founding Manufacturing USA institutes, and a part of the National Network of Manufacturing Innovation program, is a Detroit-based public-private partnership dedicated to developing and deploying advanced lightweight metal manufacturing technologies, and implementing education and training programs to better prepare the workforce today and in the future.
The detailed Michigan report can be viewed at: http://lift.technology/education-workforce-development/.
