Building the Future of New Jersey Manufacturing
NJMEP is expanding its workforce programs and embracing emerging technology as manufacturers across the state prepare for the next generation of the industry.
Every year, the first Friday in October marks National Manufacturing Day, an event that kicks off a month-long series of activities, including classroom visits, plant and factory tours, career talks and other events designed to champion the development of the modern manufacturing workforce.
The 14th annual celebration this year falls on Oct. 2. The New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program (NJMEP) is offering early-bird pricing of $55 through Aug. 22 for attendees and companies for its event that day, which will take place at iPlay America in Freehold with the theme “MADE in NJ.”
Companies can come out to showcase their equipment. There will be a “Made In” manufacturing room displaying and highlighting products from companies throughout New Jersey, as well as several breakout sessions on topics ranging from artificial intelligence to women in manufacturing and the industry specifically in South Jersey.
The event also will include an awards ceremony honoring those who have had a lasting impact on the industry and several speakers, including keynote speaker Nicol Nicola, CERP, director of the Division of Economic & Demographic Research for the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Other speakers include Evan Weiss, CEO of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and Amy Herbold, president and CEO of Choose New Jersey.
Besides the main event on National Manufacturing Day, NJMEP also promotes the manufacturing industry throughout the state through its Makers and Creators program, which currently serves high school students in 19 of the state’s 21 counties.
They spend a day in the gym, coming through on their breaks. We have manufacturing equipment, including CNC [Computer Numerical Control] Haas machines, where we make dog tags and wristbands with their names on them. We have 3D printers where we make equipment. We also have cobots and show them how to use them. And then the highlight is that we have 3D virtual welding machines that they get to learn how to weld. … There are probably, I’d say, 4,000 welding jobs open in New Jersey, and the students get to do that. We bring in companies from that county. They bring in what they do and talk to the students about careers in manufacturing,” says Peter Connolly, CEO of NJMEP.
In the past, Makers and Creators was open only to high school students. However, NJMEP is expanding the program in the upcoming school year. The program will now be available to middle school students, giving them more time to consider careers in manufacturing before they reach high school. It also will be introduced in the two New Jersey counties where it was not previously offered: Atlantic and Salem.
“We’re going to schools where we think kids may not be going to four-year colleges to show them that they can have a career in manufacturing,” says Connolly.
According to Connolly, there are approximately 10,000 small to midsize manufacturing companies across the state, meaning New Jersey’s manufacturing industry is not going anywhere. In addition to introducing the younger generation to the idea of a career in the industry, manufacturing also is advancing alongside technology, most recently with the use of AI.
“They’re slowly moving to AI. Most of what they do with AI right now is probably website design, marketing materials, those types of things. We are working with a number of companies on predictive maintenance of their machines, so we’re using AI to determine when to maintain a piece of equipment before it goes down. That way, they can plan, and you’re starting to see backroom office functions in accounting and HR moving. But it’s moving slowly among the small manufacturers,” said Connolly.
Though there are many concerns over the use of artificial intelligence and its potential impact on the job market, particularly in areas such as manufacturing, Connolly is cautiously optimistic that AI will overall be a boon to the industry, even if it changes the industry in the process.
“It’s going to be beneficial, but they’re slowly moving to it. AI is going to be out here, and I think some companies are worried that AI is going to take jobs away. I go back to the mid-’80s when computers came out and everyone said it’s going to take jobs away. It actually increased jobs, but it changed jobs. … But it created new opportunities and jobs in programming training, and you’re probably going to see the same thing in AI,” says Connolly.
NJMEP
Cedar Knolls
(973) 998-9801
NJMEP.org
Cedar Knolls
(973) 998-9801
NJMEP.org
