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An About-Face on Automation Jobs

Governor Rick Snyder addresses the need to keep focused on manufacturing in Michigan—and the United States—and to redefine what it means to choose a skilled trade as a career.

An About-Face on Automation Jobs
An About-Face on Automation Jobs

Just as automation is forcing us to think differently about how we work, we must also take a step back and think differently about why we work in manufacturing—and to think strategically about the methods used to attract new talent to the industry.

That was the message delivered by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder during his keynote last week at the Manufacturing in America Summit, presented by Siemens USA and Electro-Matic Products. Snyder is a self-proclaimed “nerd” having worked for computer company Gateway for a portion his business career, and is on a mission to help Michigan rebound from the high unemployment rates that have plagued the state. Today, the state’s unemployment rate is at its lowest point in 14 years.

Much of that success stems from not running away from manufacturing. “We were a broken state…and a lot of people were saying we need to leave manufacturing and find new fields. I thought that was backwards,” Snyder said. “When you are at the bottom of the market, you should double down. If you want to build a strong economy it is about producing goods and services to sell outside of your borders.” And not just outside of the country, but to other states, he said.

Snyder said his role as governor has been to create an ecosystem and environment for success, and a top priority is finding talented people. That’s the basis behind Pure Michigan Talent Connect (www.mitalent.org), an online marketplace for uniting Michigan job seekers and employers. On the website, which currently has almost 100,000 jobs posted, skilled trades are promoted as fulfilling careers in the healthcare, IT, construction, automotive and advanced manufacturing fields. What’s different here is the way in which these jobs are identified.

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