If you’re an especially dedicated reader of IOM, you might notice a department missing from this month’s issue. “By the Numbers” is taking a break — but if it’s numbers you’re looking for, this issue won’t disappoint.
Every year the Northeast Wisconsin Manufacturing Alliance partners with the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh to survey our region’s manufacturers on vital issues affecting their businesses and compiles the results in a vitality index report. If you were able to attend NEWMA’s quarterly meeting in December, you got a first look at this year’s data. If not, we’ve got you covered with a number-filled breakdown on page 18.
Surprising to no one will be the fact that talent numbers continue to be Northeast Wisconsin manufacturers’ top concern. We are so lucky to have NEWMA at work addressing this very issue on the ground in our region every day. Another of NEWMA’s initiatives to bolster the manufacturing workforce is on display in this very issue: All Stars, which is celebrating a milestone anniversary this year. Not only does this year’s All Stars magazine contain profiles of this year’s honorees, but it also looks at past All Stars and where they are now. I hope you’ll share this year’s supplement with a young person who just might be the perfect addition to our manufacturing workforce.
And, as this month’s cover story highlights, it’s a great time to be an aspiring manufacturing pro. More than 60 people are attending Northeast Wisconsin Technical College this year thanks to a bold new scholarship program funded by Xometry, Inc. — a global digital B2B marketplace headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
The talent shortage isn’t a problem unique to our region; the National Association of Manufacturers anticipates 4 million positions will be needed by 2030. So Xometry is going straight to the source, directly funding the education of the workers its customers need.
In writing the story, I spoke to Matthew Hutchison, Xometry’s head of global communications, who said the company partnered with Zogby and Forbes Media on a study that found talent is the number one thing companies have at their disposal to combat issues ranging from supply chain and inflation to competition.
“That concept of investing in talent, looking not only at our own talent, but talent in manufacturing in general, is why we’re doing this,” he told me — with, of course, the numbers to back him up.
It all comes down to strength in numbers, and here’s hoping that becomes a theme for 2023 — which, by the way, is another number that snuck up on me.
Happy New Year!
