[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15237]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            IN RECOGNITION OF ``NATIONAL MANUFACTURING DAY''

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 4, 2013

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of National 
Manufacturing Day, and to encourage our young people to seriously think 
about what manufacturing entails.
  According to recent reports, 55 percent of manufacturers reported 
business growth in 2012 and 63 percent anticipate growth this year. 
Meanwhile, most of their employees are at least 45 years old, with 
retirement on the horizon. Within the next decade, three-quarters of 
the workforce in this sector will need to come from Generation Y if the 
industry is to keep growing and evolving at its current rate.
  With statistics like these, companies across the nation recognize the 
need to recruit younger generations. For this reason they are opening 
their doors and welcoming our young people to tour factories and 
consider a career in manufacturing. By opening their doors, they want 
to educate young people on the skills necessary to find manufacturing 
work, and advise them that this work still pays better than many jobs.
  Take Detroit's historic rise in automotive manufacturing and 
production as an example. Thousands of families found quality good-
paying jobs, with benefits secured through collective bargaining at the 
auto plants. Although many of the manufacturing jobs that built our 
middle class over the 20th century were shipped overseas, there is a 
new focus on bringing them back by recreating what manufacturing in 
American looks like today.
  Right now, manufacturers are adding jobs at the fastest pace it has 
seen in the last few years, ramping up production of ``Made in 
America'' products. But while the manufacturing community is currently 
in the midst of resurgence, they are struggling to find qualified 
employees to fill these job openings.
  Since much of the industry has modernized over the last few decades, 
these job positions are high tech, working with robots and cutting-edge 
technologies that require strong math and computer skills. 
Manufacturing is no longer dangerous, dirty, or backbreaking work--it 
is a modern, technologically advanced profession. In order to continue 
the current manufacturing resurgence, we need to focus on preparing our 
youth with STEM educations to help them garner the skills that will 
allow them to transition into modern plants that require smart, high-
tech employees.
  I applaud American manufacturing companies pulling together to 
highlight the advances across the industry, and I strongly encourage 
these sorts of educational opportunities for our youth. Manufacturing 
has long been a source of good-paying jobs that provide economic 
security for American's middle class and I fully support efforts to 
ensure it holds this position into the future.

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