KENTUCKY EMPLOYER DEMAND FOR LIGHTWEIGHTING SKILLS GROWS BY 52 PERCENT SINCE 2012

FRANFORT, KY – Employer demand for lightweighting-related skills in Kentucky increased by 7 percent between Q1 and Q2 2018, and by 52 percent since Q1 2012 with 14,775 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 Kentucky, surpassing pre-recession employment peaks by nearly 15,000 workers, with nearly 300,000 individuals 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 Kentucky in Q2 2018 included: Maintenance and Repair Workers (2,466 postings), First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers (1,701 postings), Industrial Engineers (1,416 postings) Laborers and Freight, Stock and Material Movers (1,152 postings) and First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers and Repairers (791 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 Kentucky report can be viewed at: https://lift.technology/education-workforcedevelopment/.