Minnesota Manufacturing
Manufacturing has always been one of Minnesota's economic strengths. But here, as elsewhere, the loss of good-paying manufacturing jobs weakens our long-term economic stability and deepens the divisions along our state’s geographic and economic lines.
Minnesota manufacturers now have an official state advocate to help resolve regulatory issues, advise on state policies that affect manufacturers, craft legislative proposals, advise on manufacturing trends at the state and national level, and promote the state’s varied manufacturing industry.
The state Department of Employment and Economic Development has appointed a full-time staff member to the post. Business development specialist Diane Knutson is available to help companies clear away obstacles that impede their competitiveness – from regulatory tangles to training issues and taxation.
Contact Diane Knutson, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, 651-296-6076, diane.knutson@state.mn.us.
- Minnesota
Manufacturer's Week
October 22 - 26, 2007 -
2005 Manufacturing Industry Update
-
Manufacturing
Tomorrow Presentation
-
Report
on Manufacturing Roundtables
- Press Release - New Report Spotlights the Concerns of State's Manufacturers
- Comments on Minnesota's Manufacturing
- Skills Gaps - Understanding the Worker Needs of Manufacturers [PowerPoint]
Articles
- Understanding the Worker Needs of Manufacturers: The 2007 Minnesota Skills Gap Survey
- Tributaries and Pipelines: When manufacturing employers say "pipeline" they usually mean high school graduates. I challenge you, however, to resist such a narrow definition.
- Select, Recruit, Train: The approach for effectively recruiting workers has changed and the employees you need to find are anywhere - but not everywhere.
- Time is Running:
Tick tock click, tick tock click. The sound you hear is an employee punching out. And for many manufacturers that tick tock click could be a death knell because 2007 marks the beginning of a four-year grace period before the oldest of the baby boomers turn 65 and start to retire in large numbers.
- Growing STEM: One of the most fascinating discoveries I made validated what you and I knew (but were afraid to say aloud) - the current high school diploma has lost its currency.