Document Library
Below are documents added to the site, with the most recent listed first.
Oregon's Manufacturing Future Rests on Workers' Skill Levels
Some 53,000 skilled workers will be needed in the next 10 years to fill new jobs and replace retiring baby boomers. We can compete against low-cost labor in China or India based on the knowledge, skills and innovation of Oregon workers.
| Attachment | Size |
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| PDX_Biz_Journal_070105.pdf | 108.06 KB |
AOI Business Viewpoint Manufacturing Issue
The March/April issue of Business Viewpoint features two of Oregon’s most hidden economic assets: its manufacturing sector and its workforce development system. From 2001 to 2004, Oregon’s average increase in manufacturing wages outpaced the national average by nearly two percent, and the productivity of Oregon companies and their workers placed the state among the top five in terms of productivity and value-added output. The Business Viewpoint spotlight also looks at how business and labor leaders across Oregon are working with local Workforce Investment Boards, community colleges and universities to create and sustain high-performance companies and high-wage jobs.
2007 Manufacturing Survey Results
Lane County manufacturers face a shortage of skilled workers, based on a survey 29 companies from a cross-section of industries. The survey found 68 percent reported shortages in skilled production workers, leading to lower productivity and lost sales.
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| Lane_Manufacturing_Survey.doc | 129.5 KB |
Innovation: The Key To Shaping America’s Future
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and the Commerce Department has brought together leaders from corporate America, academia, government and especially the small and mid-size manufacturing sector to accelerate action on an innovation agenda that will allow America to compete successfully in the 21st century. The National Summit on Competitiveness calls for an increase in federal research funding, a greater emphasis on science and math education, and immigration reform to help U.S. companies find the skills and talent they need. The Innovation Summit was a giant step to bring the attention of the nation’s leaders on the bottom-line impacts of standing still in a rapidly changing world. The focus is now on moving the debate along swiftly to keep America the world’s leading innovator.
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| NAM_Innovation.pdf | 120.32 KB |
New Manufacturing Website and High Performance Consortium Grants Announced
A new manufacturing workforce Web site and five new high performance consortium grants have been announced as part a five-year plan for manufacturing. The new consortia will help support and expand high-performance practices for more Oregon companies.
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| Worksource_New_Consortia.pdf | 471.29 KB |
Today's Small and Medium Manufacturers: Powerful, Flexible and the Lifeblood of Their Communities
Small and medium manufacturers comprise one of the most vital sectors of our economy. Medium manufacturers are defined as those with 2,000 or fewer employees; small manufacturers have 500 or fewer. Such small employers are an integral part of the economy. They account for about half of private-sector output, employ more than half of private-sector workers and provide about three-fourths of net new jobs each year. Small and medium manufacturers comprise about 95 percent of all manufacturing firms and employ about half of all manufacturing employees. They account for 37 percent of all manufacturing receipts—more than $1 trillion a year, pay their workers 20 percent more than employees in other types of small business; and export increasingly more each year. The number of Small and medium manufacturers that export more than 10 percent of their sales tripled over the past decade.
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| NAM_Small_Medium Mfrs.pdf | 334.92 KB |
The National Summit on Competitiveness: Investing in U.S. Innovation
Throughout the post-World War II period, America’s leaders and its citizens have pursued policies that encouraged innovation by funding federal investment in basic research, improving education at all levels, allowing the United States to attract the best and the brightest from around the world, and facilitating the transfer of new knowledge from the lab to the marketplace. The National Summit on Competitiveness urges citizens in business, government and education to take the actions necessary to keep the United States at the forefront of an increasingly competitive global economy. The summit outlines three action plans: Increase federal funding in long-term basic research with a focus on physical sciences, engineering, and mathematics; expand the innovation talent pool in the U.S. through education and immigration reform; and lead the world in the development and deployment of advanced technologies, including nanotechnology, high-performance computing, and energy technologies.
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| NAM_Investing_in_Innovation.pdf | 405.95 KB |
Emerging Opportunity for Involvement in Lean/ High Performance Manufacturing
There is a lot of talk about Lean Manufacturing these days. We know that manufacturers all around the world are rapidly adopting Lean in order to compete. In the most visible example of Lean Manufacturing implementation, Toyota, the recognized leader in Lean, is rapidly overtaking the automotive market.
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| PDX_Biz_Journal_061220.doc | 33.5 KB |
Embracing High Performance
Companies of all kinds and sizes can benefit from high performance practices. Emerald Valley – High Performance Enterprise Consortium’s project coordinator shares experiences and insights his group’s members have gained.
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| Lane_Metro_Partnership.doc | 27.5 KB |
2005 Skills Gap Report
In spring 2005, the National Association of Manufacturers’ Manufacturing Institute/Center for Workforce Success and Deloitte Consulting LLP developed the fourth iteration in a series of surveys designed to learn more about how manufacturers plan their human capital strategies and the barriers they encounter in the process.
The results of this survey confirm the skill shortages found in earlier reports. However, the 2005 report goes much beyond earlier findings in detailing the breadth and depth of the skill shortage, the negative impact of the shortages on business operations, and the extraordinary increase in employee performance requirements.
The picture that emerges is both more complex and more disturbing than in the past, because it exposes a broadening gap between the availability of skilled workers and the employee performance requirements of modern manufacturing.
| Attachment | Size |
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| 235731.pdf | 1.48 MB |

