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Bringing manufacturing back home.

Governor Pete Ricketts said.

October 3 2022

Governor’s official photograph Here.

In the past three years, Many goods, from lumber to cars to toilet paper, faced shortages. Supply chain disruptions have shown the United States to be overly dependent on foreign suppliers. China for medicine Instead of relying on Russia for Taiwanese computer chips or fertilizer, we need to bring our manufacturing and sales back to America.

In Nebraska, we are working to make the “Made in America” standard. We’re investing in affordable housing to develop our workforce, support cutting-edge technology research, and strengthen manufacturing at Good Life.

Workforce Development

According to a study by The Manufacturing Group and Deloitte, US manufacturing is on pace to have 2.1 million unfilled jobs by 2030. This labor shortage threatens the growth of American manufacturing. Since I took charge, My team is building a talent pipeline to connect our students to high-paying manufacturing jobs in Nebraska.

To familiarize students with the manufacturing industry; It is important to provide creative and constructive experiences early in their education. Our Developing Youth Talent Initiative (DYTI) brings together schools and local producers to provide these 7 hands-on learning opportunities.^th and 8^th Class students. Since its launch in 2015, DYTI has reached 24,500 students in 66 Nebraska school districts.

This year, MetalQuest in Hebron received $125,000 to purchase equipment to introduce students to industrial robotics automation and coding. They are Gage, We are also working with schools in Jefferson and Thayer counties to create a classroom curriculum with a grant. This is the second time MetalQuest has received a DYTI grant. The company used its 2016 grant to work with Sandy Creek and Lawrence Nelson Public Schools on a manufacturing career path. Prior to creating the pathway, 39% of students reported an interest in manufacturing. After the DYTI program, around 75% expressed interest in a manufacturing career.

Through DYTI, students interested in manufacturing can participate in a high school career academy to gain industry-specific skills. for example, CNH works with Grand Island High School through its Career Pathways Institute. In 2017, CNH donated new creative materials to the school for students to use in their teaching labs. The equipment is very similar to what CNH uses in its actual production process. This allows students to get a head start on the specialized skills needed for industry careers even before graduation. CNH also offers a youth registered apprenticeship program for welders and industrial manufacturing technicians. Interns earn course credit while earning valuable experience at CNH on the manufacturing floor.

High school graduates can register for a Registered Apprenticeship (RA) to earn nationally recognized industry credentials. On average, Apprentices in the US have a salary of $77,000 after completing their program. They can also earn credits toward a college degree.

We increased RA programs by 15% by 2021, and they continue to grow. Central Community College begins its RA program in August 2021, Chief Fabrication; CNH Industrial Key manufacturing partners such as Lindsay Corporation and Standard Iron have already been recruited. This summer, Community colleges in Nebraska have received $4 million in federal grants to grow their RA programs. machinery, Learning trades in manufacturing as welders or heavy equipment operators can provide more earning opportunities for students.

By 2020, we will be at our community colleges; Created a Career Scholarship program in state college and university systems. It helps to provide specialized education for students in high-demand fields such as engineering, which is essential for manufacturing. Last year we added private colleges to the program. With that extension, Now by 2023, there will be at least 2,110 career scholarships.

Latest technology

We complement our workforce development with investments in automation that enable manufacturers to do more with less. for example, The state awarded Marble Technologies $155,000 in Business Innovation Act funding last fiscal year. The company pays subsidies to beef and pork processing plants that pay more; Grants are being used to design technologies that automate many repetitive tasks. These products help solve labor shortages that sometimes become a bottleneck in meat production.

Last month, Invest Nebraska and the Nebraska Department of Economic Development were part of a coalition that won a $25 million federal grant to create the Heartland robotics cluster. The purpose of the invention is to drive robotics innovation to improve worker productivity in Nebraska. The Nebraska Manufacturing Extension Partnership will use $1.4 million from the award to build manufacturing automation and space to demonstrate innovative products. Northeast Community College will receive funds from the award to develop an automated manufacturing lab designed to support the needs of area manufacturers. The grant will also fund robotics research and development at The Combine, which supports agricultural entrepreneurship at the Nebraska Innovation Campus.

Affordable housing

We are prioritizing affordable housing to support the manufacturing growth happening across Nebraska. Our manufacturing companies are best able to recruit talent when there are many local housing options. Housing funds are of high quality; It is a key part of our strategy to increase the inventory of reasonably priced homes. We committed $7 million from the Rural Worker Housing Fund in 2018 and another $10 million in 2021. It also provided $10 million for housing in Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy counties by 2021. This legislative session allocated an additional $128.5 million to address the need for affordable housing across the state.

Efforts to improve manufacturing yield good income. This year, Manufacturing employment in Nebraska reached its highest point since 2003. To celebrate the great work of our state’s manufacturers and highlight the state’s commitment to manufacturing, I am declaring October Manufacturing Month in Nebraska.

If you have questions about the state’s work to support manufacturing, contact [email protected] or 402-471-2244.