John David King, CEO of FishBowl Inventory, Grant Geyer, Chief Product Officer of Claroty, and Stephen Gold, President and CEO of Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI) answer questions about the new workforce changing the face of American manufacturing.
John David King
CEO, FishBowl Inventory
How is your industry benefiting from the country’s renewed focus on U.S. manufacturing?
There are a variety of software solutions that simplify all the steps, allowing a manufacturer to sell directly to customers or resellers without overspending on raw goods or missing sales due to stockouts. Just knowing where everything is at any time and ensuring that no stage of the manufacturing process is stalled due to missing parts or delayed subassemblies is money in the bank.
How can we change our country’s perception of the skilled labor profession?
Today’s skilled labor professional is a highly educated and tech-savvy professional. These careers are much different than what most people imagine when they talk about manufacturing. Taking these career opportunities down to at least the high-school level will help change perceptions and give kids many more career options they maybe didn’t know existed.
Grant Geyer
Chief Product Officer, Claroty
How is your industry benefiting from the country’s renewed focus on U.S. manufacturing?
U.S. manufacturers across the automotive, food and beverage, chemical, and other sectors are digitizing their operations to enable strong competitive advantages. However, new digital technologies also introduce new cyber risks that could negatively impact business. The more that business leaders come to understand the gravity of these risks, the clearer it becomes that cybersecurity tools are essential to succeeding with digitization.
How can we change our country’s perception of the skilled labor profession?
The transition of America’s workforce is well underway, as U.S. manufacturing facilities are increasingly leveraging highly sophisticated and best-in-class technologies to power the fourth industrial revolution to run efficiently and maintain a global competitive advantage. As a cybersecurity professional, I’d be remiss not to advise manufacturers to think about cyber threats and take proactive steps to protect their new digitized systems.
Stephen Gold
President and CEO, Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI)
How is your industry benefiting from the country’s renewed focus on U.S. manufacturing?
Considering the importance of the sector, the renewed emphasis on manufacturing has increased policymakers’ focus on the policies needed to ensure a vibrant sector — from regulatory and immigration reform to R&D tax credits, more balanced trade policies, and the creation of the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation. It has also helped drive the increased emphasis on STEM education in this country.
How can we change our country’s perception of the skilled labor profession?
As a society, we need to reform our cultural bias against careers involving technical skills and encourage our school systems not only to focus on STEM education, but on career and technical training education as well.
