Michigan Employer Demand For Lightweighting Doubles In Six Years

DETROIT – Employer demand for lightweighting-related skills in Michigan increased by 18 percent between Q1 and Q2 2018 and has doubled since Q1 2012 with more than 56,000 job postings. This according to a new report from Detroit-based LIFT— Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow, a Manufacturing USA Institute.

Additionally, 2018 marks the ninth consecutive year of employment growth in lightweighting-related occupations in Michigan, with nearly 700,000 workers employed in the field today.

The quarterly reports, highlighting employment trends, top jobs, and required skills in advanced manufacturing through Q2 2018, are completed with research and analysis from the Workforce Intelligence Network of Southeast Michigan (WIN) for Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee – a region home to more than 50 percent of metalworking jobs in the country.

“As we invest in advanced manufacturing research and development and lightweighting innovation, new and significant employment opportunities are continuing to emerge,” said Emily DeRocco, education and workforce director, LIFT. “The challenge we are working to address is in educating students and workers to rebuild the pipeline where job demand continues to outpace supply. An investment in talent, paired with collaboration among industry and education, will be critical to mitigating today’s skills gap and retaining jobs.”

The top in-demand lightweighting-related occupations in Michigan in Q2 2018 included: Industrial Engineers (6,995 postings), Maintenance and Repair Workers (6,459 postings), Mechanical Engineers (5,432 postings), First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers (4,448 postings) and Electrical Engineers (2,513 postings).

LIFT, operated by the American Lightweight Materials Manufacturing Innovation Institute (ALMMII) and one of the founding Manufacturing USA institutes, is a publicprivate partnership dedicated to developing and deploying advanced lightweight metal manufacturing technologies, and implementing education and training programs to better prepare the workforce today and in the future.

The full Michigan report can be viewed at: https://lift.technology/education-workforcedevelopment/.