The Outlook for Maryland Manufacturing
Technology, Talent & Transformation
By Dr. Michael Galiazzo, President, Regional Manufacturing Institute of Maryland (RMI) and 2021 The Daily Record Icon award winner.
The outlook for Maryland manufacturing is, in a word, transformational. The inescapable reality is that our industry is changing, and change is occurring fast. Technologies are at the heart of this shift, and the term “business as usual” needs to be retired when talking about manufacturing. The way companies organize to do work and compete globally requires adopting technologies that alter business strategy, product design and development, production, supply chains, and customer satisfaction. In 2021, the Regional Manufacturing Institute of Maryland successfully led the charge in Annapolis to create a legislative workgroup to address the digital transformation of Maryland manufacturing. Since becoming law, the workgroup has been meeting to develop recommendations to submit to the Governor to help the State’s manufacturing industry adopt new technologies more quickly. Attracting talent to work in high-tech manufacturing is increasingly challenging. The shortage of skilled workers is at epic levels. According to the Maryland Department of Labor, there were 50,240 manufacturing jobs (non-duplicated) posted on their Maryland Workforce Exchange in 2020. The number of job postings was even higher in 2021. Increased awareness of the new technological face of manufacturing will help attract younger, technologically sophisticated workers. Helping others learn about today’s advanced manufacturing and the wealth-generating opportunities that exist within this industry is critical. Since our founding in 1990, RMI has Championed the need for promoting a positive image of manufacturing to attract workers and garner support for manufacturing. In fact, most recently, RMI collaborated with Maryland Public Television (MPT) to produce Made in Maryland, a multi-episode program about Maryland manufacturing today. The first episode has been released and can be viewed here: www.RMIofmaryland.com
Maryland manufacturing matters. It is a pathway to livable wages for many. As such, manufacturing is an instrument of social change. Join me this year to make manufacturing a priority in word and deed and help us promote jobs in manufacturing, a positive image of manufacturing, and the transformation of manufacturing today.
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Read the full Outlook: https://thedailyrecord.com/2021/12/29/doing-business-in-maryland-2022-digital-edition/