Organizational change consultants say the first requirement
for change is a shared sense of urgency, but without leadership, urgency is an
opportunity gone to waste. So it goes with our current congressional leadership.
Meanwhile, American manufacturing is being aided by a rare
example of government at work.
Three months ago, $500 million in grants were
awarded to American community colleges to develop local employer partnerships
and expand job training.
The grants are the second installment of a $2 billion,
four-year initiative that was legislated fairly early during Obama’s first term
in office. For more about the grant program, visit http://www.doleta.gov/taaccct.
Manufacturers are seeing the impact of
this program by way of job training in many areas, including mechatronics, a
term coined to mean the convergence of mechanics and electronics. Mechatronics
is a key path for manufacturing innovation and one of our clients, Siemens
Industry, is a leader in this area. Siemens is collaborating with community
colleges to develop 2-year training curriculums that will address their
desperate need for skilled manufacturing labor.
Talk about a shared sense of urgency,
American manufacturing now experiences an estimated shortage of 600,000 skilled
employees nationwide. Whether on the precipice of a skilled labor crisis or a
fiscal cliff, government really can work when the mechatronics of leadership
aren’t jammed.
jb
www.centrifuge-now.com
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