Technology is fueling Maryland’s manufacturing growth. | So Good News

Maryland’s manufacturers have accelerated dramatically in the past year, using technologies that boost their competitiveness with firms in countries like China that benefit from an abundance of low-cost labor.

Manufacturers’ willingness to embrace digital and non-digital technologies will serve regional manufacturers well in 2022, said Mike Galiazzo, president of the Regional Manufacturing Institute of Maryland, Thursday, Nov. 17. Thursday Thursday Thursday

“Manufacturers are adopting new digital technologies that make them more efficient and productive,” Galiazzo said.

Technological advances in manufacturing are improving everything from competitive advantage to attracting women and minorities to work in factories, he said.

The incorporation of new technologies by Maryland manufacturers also strengthens the diversity of the emerging manufacturing sector, Galiazzo said. Biotech and defense companies are not traditionally considered manufacturers.

“There’s a diversity of products that come out of Maryland companies,” he said.

The most recent Maryland Manufacturing Extension Partnership data available in 2020; The state’s leading manufacturing sectors by gross domestic product are chemical manufacturing; computer electronics manufacturing and food and tobacco manufacturing. The report, called Machinery Manufacturing and General Manufacturing, rounded out the top five.

According to the same data, industrialists in the state have outpaced the national GDP growth rate since 2015. While the nation on average has experienced a decline in manufacturing GDP due to the coronavirus, manufacturing in Maryland has avoided a significant decline.

According to the analysis of the state’s federal labor data, production wages also exceed the national average. Manufacturing workers in Maryland earn more than $40 an hour on average, compared to a national average of $35 an hour.

However, Maryland’s manufacturers still need help expanding the industry’s role in the local economy.

Galiazzo said the biggest challenge manufacturers face is filling the available jobs.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Maryland’s available labor force has declined since 2019. While the national average rebounded after a low point in 2020, the size of Maryland’s workforce fell to its lowest level since 2016.

By 2021, Maryland’s workforce is projected to reach 3.17 million. State residents between the ages of 25 and 34 represent the largest available workforce. They represent about 22% of the state’s workforce, in line with the national average.

The most significant gap between Maryland’s workforce and the national average is with workers ages 35 to 44. In that group, national workers make up 21.5% of the workforce; That group accounts for about 19% of workers.

Every month, thousands of Maryland manufacturing jobs go unfilled, Galiazzo said. The struggle to fill those jobs, he said, is not due to a lack of knowledge about their availability and lack of required skills.

for example, Galiazzo said his company participated in a virtual job fair in Baltimore County with 16 manufacturing companies looking to fill more than 300 positions.

“We’ve had over 250 people participate in the virtual job fair, and we’re still struggling to fill the gap,” he said.

Galiazzo said outgoing Larry Hogan’s administration did an admirable job of boosting manufacturing’s role in the state’s economy. However, there is still room for improvement.

Governor-elect Wes Moore; In recent conversations with elected officials, including incumbent Brooke Lierman and Senate President Bill Ferguson, Galiazzo was confident that the change in government would not affect Annapolis’ support for boosting manufacturing.

“Maryland can be a national showcase for the next generation of manufacturing. But we need to accelerate the adoption of new technologies and upgrade the skills of workers to work in those tech-savvy environments,” Galiazzo said.