Survey and Executive Summit Address Skills Shortage

NEW YORK, Feb. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The recent release of employment data and employment projections raise important issues for the factories and workforce of the future, according to experts from The Manufacturing Leadership Council (manufacturingleadershipcouncil.com), an executive network designed to define and shape a better future for manufacturers worldwide.

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"Some studies* indicate there are as many as 600,000 jobs in the U.S. manufacturing sector that are currently unfilled because of a skills problem," said David R. Brousell, Vice President & Editorial Director at Manufacturing Executive, which manages the Manufacturing Leadership Council; produces the upcoming Manufacturing Leadership Summit, to be held April 29-May 2 (https://www.mlsummit.com); and publishes the Manufacturing Executive Leadership Journal (MELJ).

The latest issue of MELJ features the results of an exclusive survey of manufacturing leaders, entitled "Future Factories: Flexible, Fast, and Customer-Driven." The survey details a future in which highly adaptive factories can reconfigure production lines on a dime, creating sophisticated new jobs requiring high levels of skill and technical acumen.

The problem, though, is that even as these new jobs are created, manufacturers in the U.S. are having a hard time finding qualified people to fill them. The MELJ survey, which polled more than 200 manufacturers in October 2011, reveals that finding skilled people looms as one the key challenges facing manufacturers as they attempt to plan for a more IT-intensive future.

The Manufacturing Leadership Council – consisting of more than 100 manufacturing industry leaders – is actively reaching out to policymakers to create a manufacturing strategy of the future that includes addressing the skills issue. Helping industry leaders rise to this challenge will be among the subjects discussed by attendees and keynote speakers at the 8th Annual Manufacturing Leadership Summit. Winners of the Manufacturing Leadership 100 Awards (ml100awards.com) will also be honored for the innovative business strategies that keep them successful and their workers employed. All ML100 Award winners will be honored on May 2 at a gala reception during the Manufacturing Leadership Summit at The Breakers in Palm Beach, FL.

*According to a Manufacturing Institute/Deloitte study, Oct. 17, 2011.

About the Manufacturing Leadership Council

The Manufacturing Leadership Council includes more than 100 senior-level representatives from the world's most influential companies such as Ferrari, General Motors, GlaxoSmithKline, Dow Chemicals, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Colgate-Palmolive, L'Oreal, and Johnson & Johnson. Members include executive management from corporate, finance, production, and technology divisions, and encompass a broad range of manufacturing sectors including consumer packaged goods, pharmaceuticals, metals, aerospace and defense, and chemicals. To learn more about the Manufacturing Leadership Council, please visit manufacturingleadershipcouncil.com.

About Manufacturing Enterprise Communications

Manufacturing Enterprise Communications, a division of Thomas Publishing Company, LLC, is the leading information resource for manufacturing executives and produces industry-specific information for global manufacturing markets. Manufacturing Enterprise Communications provides critical content to innovative and forward-thinking manufacturing companies that use enterprise systems and information, as well as automation technologies, to transform their businesses and create a sustainable competitive advantage. Manufacturing Enterprise Communications powers the Manufacturing Executive Website, Manufacturing Leadership Council, and Manufacturing Executive Leadership Journal; the Manufacturing Leadership Summit; and the ML100 Awards program.

For media inquiries or more information on how to become a member of the Manufacturing Leadership Council, contact us at 888-280-6794 or executiveteam@manufacturingleadershipcouncil.com.

SOURCE Manufacturing Enterprise Communications

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