Recently, President Trump brought two dozen manufacturing CEOs to the White House to discuss an issue on which he campaigned incessantly: Bringing manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.
According to Associated Press (reporters were permitted to attend the gathering on condition of not quoting individual executives by name), a number of CEOs indicated there were still plenty of openings for U.S. factory jobs, but too few qualified people to fill them. They urged the White House to support vocational training for the high-tech skills that today’s manufacturers increasingly require—a topic Trump has seldom addressed.
“The jobs are there, but the skills are not,” one executive said during meetings with White House officials that preceded a session with the president. The discussion of job training and worker skills is a relatively new one for Trump, who has never gone into detail about how exactly to bring back jobs. White House officials said Trump heard the CEOs’ concerns about a shortage of qualified workers and said he supports efforts to increase training for factory jobs. But no details were provided.
“We were challenged by the president to … come up with a program to make sure the American worker is trained for the manufacturing jobs of tomorrow,” Reed Cordish, a White House official, told AP after the meetings.
The vexing part of the problem was articulated by Richard Gilchrist, CEO of Felsomat, a Schaumberg, IL materials handling firm, when he told the Chicago Tribune, “The jobs that can come back are high-tech jobs, if we have the industry to support it.”
Recruiting has been an uphill climb as an increasingly high-tech manufacturing sector battles the image of a dirty, dying industry and a mindset that idealizes a university education. Gilchrist chairs a Chicago-area group of manufacturers that partner with local high schools and community colleges to train a new generation of workers excited for a career in advanced manufacturing.
On May 16 and 17, Chief Executive’s Smart Manufacturing Summit—to be held in Seattle in partnership with Boeing—will address head-on the challenge of attracting and developing a workforce to meet the needs of advanced manufacturing. Steve Bock, president of Bedrock Manufacturing, will address some of the solutions they’ve pursued, such as training, reskilling, recruiting, deploying and retaining employees—with an in-depth look at one company’s use of apprenticeships. Peter Riehle will discuss how WITTENSTEIN North America closed its skills gap by creating an effective apprenticeship training program based on a German model.
For more information on the Smart Manufacturing Summit, click here.
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1:00 - 5:00 pm
Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
Limited space available.
10:30 - 5:00 pm
General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
Sponsored by UBS
General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.
