Mass-TEC Blog is in transition!

Entries may be viewed here, or at the mass-tec.org site.  Stay tuned for further details!

Some Links to Recent News Stories about Manufacturing

Posts, articles, and programs on Manufacturing — in Massachusetts and beyond:

• On NPR’s Marketplace Morning Report, January 3, 2012: Greater Skills Expected for Manufacturing Jobs

Links on Workforce Development in Massachusetts and beyond:

• Report Urges New Approach to Workforce Development, which appeared in the 12/19/11 edition of the Worcester Business Journal

What happens when machines do the work?

Part of the reason that manufacturing continues to output product in quantity, despite the lack of skilled workers and despite the recession, has to do with the industries ability to adapt, rethinking the way they do business, and utilizing new tools as they become available.

So, one question that many ask is:  what happens [to the people, and to manufacturing] when machines do the work?  This question was addressed by on a recent broadcast of On Point, an NPR show hosted by Tom Ashbrook.  If you’d like to read the introduction and listen to the show, then go to this link: http://onpoint.wbur.org/2011/11/02/when-machines-do-the-work

Veterans in Massachusetts, Workforce Development, & MassMEP

MassMEP works with the Patrick-Murray administration to increase Veteran training through the Mobile Operator Skills Training (MOST) outreach program.  The MOST program will provide training and the opportunity to enter into manufacturing-related jobs in the baystate.

For more information on this $500,000 training initiative: http://www.mass.gov/governor/pressoffice/pressreleases/2011/111102-comprehensive-veterans-plan.html

MassBioTech Council on BioPharma Manufacturing in MA

To quote a recent informational post by the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council about the biopharma manufacturing subsector wellness in Massachusetts:

Massachusetts is at the center of the region with the greatest biologics manufacturing capacity in the world – with 300,000 liters of cell culture manufacturing capacity.
Of the top 11 biopharma manufacturing states, Massachusetts was one of just four which added manufacturing jobs in the last decade.

For more on biopharma manufacturing in Massachusetts, go to MassBio.org.

 

 

 

MassMEP: August Next Generation Manufacturing Newsletter Available

Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership releases the Next Generation Manufacturing newsletter each month.  The newsletter features:

• an editorial (“From the Desk of Jack Healy”)
• a case study focusing on manufacturer growth
• education and workforce development
• sustainability
• general industry news
• video of the month

The August 2011 newsletter includes the following articles:

• From the Desk of Jack Healy, Viewpoints on the State of Manufacturing: Continuous Growth Improvement 
• Growth Manufacturer Case Study:  Creating Capacity for Growth (Amherst Machine)
• Workforce Development:  Manufacturing is a Large Part of the Economy
• Workforce Development:  STEMPower Named 2011 Workforce Training Partner of the Year
• Corporate Sustainability:  Elusive Idea, Customer Mandate

For more articles and information from the August 2011 MassMEP Next Generation Manufacturing newsletter, go to this URL:  http://www.massmac.org/newsline/1108/1108_issue.htm