Investing in People to Thrive During a Manufacturing Boom (video)

July 24, 2024

Indiana University Professor Phil Powell says taking advantage of the massive increase in U.S. manufacturing spending is going to require huge training and retraining efforts.

Robert Schoenberger

U.S. manufacturing is experiencing a once in several generations boom in hiring and output, Indiana University Economics Professor Phil Powell said recently at the IndustryWeek Operations Leadership Summit.

However, to lock in those gains and ensure domestic production remains competitive globally in the coming years, manufacturers need to invest in people. Automation and other technologies are great, but U.S. manufacturing has long staked its claim on excellence on worker productivity, Powell said, and that's where companies should look for the future.

IndustryWeek editors invited Powell to speak at the conference after reading a 2023 article he wrote about a similar topic, "Making the Indianapolis workforce more competitive."

Please enjoy Powell's keynote address from June 28.

About the Author

Robert Schoenberger

Editor-in-Chief

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/robert-schoenberger-4326b810

Bio: Robert Schoenberger has been writing about manufacturing technology in one form or another since the late 1990s. He began his career in newspapers in South Texas and has worked for The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi; The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky; and The Plain Dealer in Cleveland where he spent more than six years as the automotive reporter. In 2014, he launched Today's Motor Vehicles (now EV Manufacturing & Design), a magazine focusing on design and manufacturing topics within the automotive and commercial truck worlds. He joined IndustryWeek in late 2021.