Page 24 - SKILLS - 2023

INDUSTRIES IN FOCUS
Advanced Manufacturing:
Skilled Workers in High Demand
BY DAVID LEVINE
© Courtesy of Bantam Tools
Local employers in the advanced manufacturing sector include Peekskill-based Bantam Tools
(top of page and opposite page) and Elmsford-based Magnetic Analysis Corporation (above), among many others. Workers are in high demand in this sector, which provides opportunities to work with sophisticated machinery to design and make products.
The traditional sector of manufacturing — making things with large-scale machinery or along an assembly line — has in some ways become inextricable from advanced manufacturing, which uses innovative technologies like computation, sensing, automation, and networking to make products.
That’s because these days, most manufacturers use some form of automation or computer engineering, especially in non-traditional manufacturing hubs like the lower Hudson Valley.
Westchester is particularly well-positioned to provide skilled talent for this industry, thanks to timely collaboration between local colleges, government, and employers, says Johnnieanne Hansen, vice president of operations and workforce development at the Council of Industry, a local manufacturers’ association.
The Westchester County Office of Economic Development’s Advanced Manufacturing Industry Desk promotes the county’s 28 higher-education institutions and many public schools, which are preparing workers for these highly skilled jobs — with highly lucrative salaries.
For employers in advanced manufacturing, “workforce is still an obstacle,” says Hansen. While businesses have been able to fill some positions thanks to new training programs that have sprung up in recent years, they are still “looking for individuals that fit well within the company.”
One training that has been a helpful pipeline for employers is the Certified Production Technician (CPT) 4.0 program, a certificate awarded to those students who exhibit “a mastery of foundational core competencies in advanced manufacturing,” says Westchester County’s Director of Economic Development Bridget Gibbons. This entry-level program teaches the basics of manufacturing processes, safety, awareness, “green” production techniques, and more, “to make it easier for the employer to hire them,” she says. The program, offered through
22 2023 SKILLS What’s Hot. What’s Next. What’s Needed.
© Courtesy of Magnetic Analysis Corporation