Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com May 2, 2016 • Hartford Business Journal 3 Talent, technology top attendees' lists for Hartford's 'Mfg4' expo By Gregory Seay gseay@HartfordBusiness.com T he several thousand manufacturing-indus- try professionals and supporters descend- ing on downtown Hartford this week for their three-day "Manufacturing 4 the Future" (Mfg4) forum/exposition will have several topics and issues on their minds, but none more press- ing than their perennial talent shortage. "The greatest challenge is replenishing the workforce,'' said Bruce Fedorowicz, sales director for a Newington aeroparts maker and past president of the Aerospace Components Manufacturers (ACM), a leading Connecticut industry lobby. "That's not unique to Connecti- cut. But that's the biggest threat to Connecticut being the dominant aerospace 'Silicon Valley.' " Actually, Connecticut's manufacturing employment has been one of the state econ- omy's few bright spots the past 12 months, steadily adding workers. But Connecticut Business & Industry Association econo- mist Peter M. Gioia said the producer job count would be high- er but for the shortage of skilled workers. "It's been an issue for a long time, but that doesn't mean it's getting any better,'' Gioia said. The Society for Manufacturing Engineers (SME), the Dearborn, Mich., trade lobby that puts on "Mfg4", says there is a shortage of more than 600,000 manufactur- ing workers nationwide. All told, U.S. manufacturing employment numbers 12.3 million workers in a sector that accounts for about 12 percent of the nation's total output of goods and services, SME said. In Connecticut, more than 160,000 people work in manufacturing, which accounts for about 10 percent of the state's goods-services output. The manufacturing executives and engi- neers, along with their supporting retinue of suppliers, lenders, investment bankers and oth- ers, also head into their session at the Connect- icut Convention Center with other concerns. Among them, Gioia said, is their high over- head tied to state income and property taxes and other levies, plus burdensome costs asso- ciated with satisfying state and federal health and labor mandates. Another worry is trade, hampered by slowing overseas demand for U.S. goods and services, coupled with a strong dollar that makes those goods and services more expensive relative to Asian, European and Latin American producers. There is, however, some good news for individual manufacturers. The growth in Continued Bill aims to strengthen student interest in manufacturing State lawmakers are currently con- sidering a bill aimed at encouraging more middle and high school students to consider manufacturing careers. House Bill 5423, which already received unanimous House approval and is now awaiting Senate action, requires state education overseers — including the education commissioner and Board of Regents for Higher Edu- cation — to establish a committee that will coordinate efforts to educate middle and high school students about manufacturing careers. Under the bill, the committee must annually compile a catalog of manu- facturing training programs at public and private educational institutions; analyze, in consultation with the manu- facturing industry, whether current pro- grams available to Connecticut students are meeting workforce needs; and annu- ally report its findings to the Commerce and Higher Education committees, with the first report due Feb. 1, 2017. The bill also requires the education commissioner to develop a program to introduce middle and high school stu- dents to manufacturing careers and a best-practices guide, in consultation with representatives from the manufac- turing industry and the Connecticut Cen- ter for Advanced Technology (CCAT), to help local and regional boards of educa- tion incorporate relationships with the manufacturing industry in their middle school and high school curricula. The bill has widespread, bipartisan support and is backed by the Connecti- cut Business & Industry Association, CCAT and Middlesex Chamber of Com- merce, among others. — Greg Bordonaro www.kelsercorp.com/cybercrime www.kelsercorp.com 111 Roberts St, Suite D East Hartford, CT 06108 860 610 2200 Secure them. Students trust you with their school records. Area pupils participated in the 2014 "Mfg4" event in Hartford. The 2014 "Manufacturing 4 the Future'' event drew 4,028 attendees when it was staged in Hartford's Connecticut Convention Center, and returns there this week from Tuesday through Thursday. This year's event is expected to draw about several thousand attendees and 197 manufacturers. P H O T O S | S O C I E T Y F O R M A N U F A C T U R I N G E N G I N E E R S Peter M. Gioia, economist, Connecticut Business & Industry Association

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