This study assesses drivers of change in Northern California’s manufacturing workforce, including the reshoring of manufacturing that is currently overseas, the realignment of global supply chains, the widespread adoption of digital technology in production processes, 3D printing, and the aging of the industrial workforce. The study also includes a discussion of biomedical manufacturing as a sector with distinct requirements.
Future Careers in Manufacturing
Building a Stronger Manufacturing Workforce in Northern California
Introduction
Manufacturing holds an important key to the economy of California, which is the nation’s largest manufacturing state. It supports a balanced and diversified economy, is an anchor for research and development (R&D), and provides well-compensated entry level jobs with significant opportunities for advancement. It also fills a critical gap in California’s employment structure between lower-paid service jobs and highly-paid employment in technology-related fields, providing opportunities for workers without advanced degrees.
The setting for manufacturing in Northern California is undergoing change as new technologies redefine job functions and the skills required to meet them. It is not a static environment, and targeted support is required to enable manufacturing companies to find the right employees and help workers to develop the skills needed to keep up with technological change. As this happens, the HR function within companies will also need to evolve.
This study assesses drivers of change in Northern California’s manufacturing workforce, including the reshoring of manufacturing that is currently overseas, the realignment of global supply chains, the widespread adoption of digital technology in production processes, 3D printing, and the aging of the industrial workforce. The study also includes a discussion of biomedical manufacturing as a sector with distinct requirements.
Beyond these trends, which impact workforce development in the manufacturing sector across the board, this report analyzes the top sub-sectors for employment in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area and the San Joaquin Valley, and which of those sub-sectors are growing or shrinking. It also documents existing training programs and provides recommendations for strengthening those programs in the next one to three years.
This report’s particular focus is on jobs generated by growing sub-sectors that for the most part require less than a four-year degree. These are jobs that either pay $20/hour or more and have the ability to grow over time, or start at less than $20/hour with the opportunity to quickly advance. Research in this report draws on interviews, surveys, an assessment of economic and technological trends, and economic data analysis.
