TENNESSEE EMPLOYER DEMAND FOR LIGHTWEIGHTING NEARLY DOUBLES IN SIX YEARS

NASHVILLE, TENN. – Employer demand for lightweighting-related skills in Tennessee increased by 15 percent between Q1 and Q2 2018 and has nearly doubled since Q1 2012 with more than 22,500 job postings. This according to a new report from Detroitbased LIFT—Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow, a Manufacturing USA Institute.

Additionally, 2018 marks the eighth consecutive year of employment growth in lightweighting-related occupations in Tennessee, surpassing pre-recession levels, with over 435,000 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 the 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 Tennessee in Q2 2018 included: Maintenance and Repair Workers (3,716 postings), First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers (2,441 postings), Industrial Engineers (1,950 postings), Laborers and Freight, Stock and Material Movers (1,682 postings) and FirstLine Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers and Repairers (1,262 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 Tennessee report can be viewed at: https://lift.technology/education-workforcedevelopment/.