Gillibrand, Collins and Higgins Announce Legislation to Bolster Manufacturing Education at Universities and Train New York's Workforce for 21st Century Economy

Standing together at the Praxair, Inc.'s global technology center, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Congressman Chris Collins and Congressman Brian Higgins announced new legislation today to bolster manufacturing education at universities and train the workforce to meet the growing demands of the 21st century manufacturing sector. The Manufacturing Universities Act of 2015 is a bipartisan bill that would designate 25 universities as "Manufacturing Universities' and provide schools with incentives to better align their educational offerings with the needs of modern manufacturers. The legislation will provide qualifying universities grants of $5 million per year, for a four-year period, that will help universities enhance their engineering programs to emphasize manufacturing skills, incentivize partnerships with local manufacturers, increase internship and cooperative education opportunities for students, and help more recent graduates launch new manufacturing businesses.

Manufacturing contributes $1.8 trillion to the American economy annually and manufacturing jobs pay more, contribute more jobs to the local service economy, and the sector has a higher multiplier effect than any other. Yet many manufacturers are unable to fill open positions because prospective employees do not have the requisite training. The Society of Manufacturing Engineers predicts that the number of unfilled manufacturing jobs could increase to 3 million by 2015. According to a 2014 New York Federal Reserve report, more than 30 percent of New York manufacturers said it was difficult to retain skilled workers, which had increased from 24 percent the previous year and 22 percent two years prior. According to the State University of New York (SUNY) Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) careers, which include jobs in manufacturing, are growing 2.5 times faster than other fields in New York. These jobs demand higher skills, as is proof by the fact that over 70 percent of the STEM workforce in New York State have at least a bachelor's degree.

"If we want our local businesses to expand and grow Upstate New York's economy, then we need to make sure our workforce has the skills and training to match," said Senator Gillibrand. "No job should go unfilled and no company's expansion should ever be inhibited because there aren't enough trained workers. This legislation will equip more students with the advanced manufacturing skills and experience necessary to meet growing demand and ensure New York's manufacturing sector remains innovative and globally competitive."

"As a small business owner who worked in manufacturing for over 35 years, I understand the difficulty in training and finding qualified manufacturing workers," said Congressman Collins. "To expand manufacturing in Western New York, we need to have a workforce capable of filling these skilled jobs. This bipartisan legislation will provide partnering colleges and universities the resources necessary to equip their students with the skills needed to succeed in manufacturing."

"Western New York, with its highly dedicated workforce and top notch universities, is well positioned to lead the way in this collaborative initiative," said Congressman Higgins. "As manufacturing continues to evolve, workers need the tools to grow and develop the skills necessary to effectively serve in the jobs of today and tomorrow."

"We applaud Senator Gillibrand for the introduction of the Manufacturing Universities Act of 2015. This legislation recognizes the importance of domestic advanced manufacturing and will both improve competitiveness of local production and enable rapid implementation of new, innovative technologies," said Todd Skare, vice president and chief technology officer for Praxair, Inc.

"Access to engineers and skilled tradesmen is critical for the success of manufacturers large and small, in WNY and nationwide," said Benjamin Rand, Chairman of the American Small Manufactures Coalition. "The American Small Manufacturers Coalition strongly supports the efforts of Senator Gillibrand, Senator Coons and their colleagues to address this important issue."

The legislation would help prepare more engineers for careers in innovation and advanced manufacturing by designating 25 universities as "Manufacturing Universities' that will focus on advanced manufacturing and engineering. The legislation would establish a program within the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) charged with designating the 25 schools as "Manufacturing Universities.' Designated schools would receive $5 million per year for four years to meet specific goals, including focusing engineering programs on manufacturing, building new partnerships with manufacturing firms, growing training opportunities, and fostering manufacturing entrepreneurship. The program would be run by the Director of the NIST, in coordination with the Secretaries of Defense and Energy, and the Director of the National Science Foundation, among others.

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