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September 27, 2010

Training Up In Central Mass. | MassMEP earns industry award for new program

It’s a strange time for manufacturing. By several of the primary measures of the sector’s health, manufacturing is not doing well (see the page one story on employment in the sector).

But the metrics used to research the sector focus on the past in order to make conclusions about the present. That works to a certain extent, and it is valuable to know, for example, that roughly half as many people work in manufacturing in Massachusetts now as did just a decade ago.

Where we tend to go wrong, though, is in thinking that the manufacturing sector can’t be called healthy or strong or successful again until it regains all that it has lost in recent decades.

For one thing, that just isn’t going to happen. For another, it simply isn’t true.

Talking Heads

Every month, I participate in the Manufacturing Matters radio program on WTAG sponsored by the Worcester Polytechnic Institute Venture Forum and hosted by Jack Healy, executive director of the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

Jack’s been in manufacturing for a long time and he’ll tell you that manufacturing in Massachusetts isn’t dead. But it is much different than it was just a generation ago.

And that’s what MEP is all about, so I don’t mind pointing out that the organization won the Skills Training Provider of the Year award this summer from the Boston-based Workforce Solutions Group, a coalition of state labor, academic, management, human resources and union groups.

What won MEP the award was a comprehensive, grant-funded training program MEP developed and implemented along with the Skyline Technical Fund.

The program assesses the needs of individual manufacturers and develops entry-level, job-focused and advanced technology training for employees and unemployed people.

An astounding 71 percent of the 95 unemployed people who entered the program were subsequently hired by area manufacturers.

Keep in mind that the program that garnered the award is a new program, and just one of several offered by MEP.

Upon request, MEP will help manufacturers adopt lean manufacturing practices and principles. It’ll help manufacturers get a better handle on financing, marketing, education, training and hiring practices.

But I’ve seen Jack shake his head in disbelief when talking about manufacturers that are either uninterested, unmotivated or just too lazy and unwilling to change to listen to what MEP has to offer.

For them, it may seem easier to complain about how manufacturing is dead in Massachusetts than it is to actually do something about it, and that’s unfortunate.

The economy is lousy. In New England, manufacturing jobs that are lost typically don’t come back.

But really, the fate of the manufacturing sector is, in part, in the hands of manufacturers themselves. In writing this column, I’ve visited companies that demonstrate how domestic firms can compete with China. I’ve seen some of the most innovative products and methods in the world developed right here in Central Massachusetts.

It takes more dedication, more smarts and more drive than it did a generation ago, but it’s possible and profitable, and MEP knows it. It can teach manufacturers about what it takes to be nimble and productive and profitable, but it can’t force manufacturers to participate.

In writing this column, I’ve had the opportunity to visit some of the best shops in the state. But I’ve also been in those that make Jack shake his head. During a tour of a facility, I can tell when employees aren’t accustomed to seeing the owner or CEO on the factory floor. I’ve seen staggering levels of disorganization and unwillingness to do anything that’s different than what’s always been done.

MEP is there for companies like them, as evidenced by the Skills Training Provider award. But it’s also there only for those willing to help themselves, and as the economy improves, I truly hope that more manufacturers are.

Got news for our Industrial Strength column? E-mail WBJ Managing Editor Matthew L. Brown at mbrown@wbjournal.com .

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