The Industry Week – Michele Nash-Hoff
“In February 2015, the Brookings Institution released the report, “America’s Advanced Industries: What they are, where they are, and why they matter.” The authors of the report identified 50 industries that constitute the advanced industries sector, of which 35 are related to manufacturing, 12 to services and three to energy. The report states, “As of 2013, the nation’s 50 advanced industries…employed 12.3 million U.S. workers. That amounts to about 9% of total U.S. employment. And yet, even with this modest employment base, U.S. advanced industries produce $2.7 trillion in value added annually—17% of all U.S. gross domestic product (GDP).” Another benefit of these advanced industries is: “In 2013, the average advanced industries worker earned $90,000 in total compensation, nearly twice as much as the average worker outside of the sector. Over time, absolute earnings in advanced industries grew by 63% from 1975 to 2013, after adjusting for inflation.” One of the report’s recommendations for our nation’s private and public sector was: “Recharge the skills pipeline.” While everyone agrees that filling the pipeline at an early age is essential to increasing the numbers, achieving this goal has been frustrating.”(more)