Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1170674
2019 | DOING BUSINESS IN CONNECTICUT | 63 Spartan Aerospace manager Wayne Thibodeau shows apprentice Christializ Reyes a machine-tool component used for crafting finely detailed metal parts. Making It Better Connecticut pulls together to boost its manufacturing sector By Carol Latter Connecticut is home to some of the world's most successful and forward-thinking advanced manufacturing companies in the nation – from Farmington-based United Technologies (parent company to Pratt & Whitney, Otis, Carrier and Collins Aerospace) to New Britain's Stanley Black & Decker and Pitney Bowes in Stamford. These high-tech companies manufacture locally, employ thousands, and ship their products all over the world. But they only tell part of Connecticut's manufacturing story. More than 4,500 companies are involved in advanced manufacturing, generating almost 11% of the state's gross state product. Connecticut manufacturers land billions of dollars in defense contracts each year, and export some $15.5 billion on an annual basis, representing 94% of the state's exports. And the impact doesn't end there. The sector directly supports roughly 164,700 employees, with an average salary of $95,118 per year. "It's manufacturing activity that begets non-manufacturing activity, not the other way around," explains Don Klepper-Smith, chief economist and director of research with DataCore Partners. "For every job created in manufacturing, another 1.5 jobs are created in non-manufacturing sectors." As Connecticut works to regain some of the jobs lost in the Great Recession, the state's manufacturing base seems to be holding its own, adding 6,300 positions in 2017 and 1,700 more last year. Still, economic development and manufacturing groups across the state have been working to shake things up in the sector, tackling some of the challenges that they feel are keeping the industry from surging forward. And they're already seeing some impressive results. Finding qualified workers One key problem is a long-standing shortage of qualified workers to fill gaps in the industry's employment ranks. In 2015 – recognizing this as an issue that would only grow worse without a concerted effort to address it – the Eastern Connecticut Workforce Investment Board (EWIB) applied for and secured a competitive three-year, $6 million U.S. Department of Labor grant to identify unemployed and underemployed job candidates, and offer them free, specialized training for positions with manufacturers in the region. The terms of the grant called for the EWIB, led by president John Beauregard, to deliver 400 jobs. Working in close collaboration with educational institutions as well as Groton-based Electric Boat and other manufacturing firms, the board identified the exact type of training needed and set out to offer it. The results have exceeded all expectations. Since the Manufacturing Pipeline Initiative (MPI) got its start, more than 1,300 participants have been trained at local schools and colleges, and placed in jobs, most at Electric Boat. Another 190 manufacturers have also been hiring through the program. "That was the intent here – to make sure that not only large employers but smaller and medium employers had a place to turn to for the development of tomorrow's manufacturing workforce," said Beauregard. MANUFACTURING SECTION SPONSOR