What To Take Away From Advanced Manufacturing Partnership’s Final Report

The Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP) is an operational group comprised of 19 different leaders with experience in the manufacturing industry, academia and labor fields.  The purpose of the AMP’s creation is to keep the United States up to date on the latest and emerging technologies, as well as continuing to build the manufacturing industry’s future.  On October 28^th of this week, the AMP released their final report on their findings, along with a list of recommendations and suggested policy changes to fix and improve upon the results.

The AMP’s goal is overall improving the manufacturing industry, and so far, the results have been positive.  Gross domestic product (GDP) has been rising, increasing 2.6 percent in the last year, while unemployment continues to drop, down 5.9 percent since 2011, and 1.6 this past year alone.  These improvements have been reflected in the manufacturing industry, as more than 700,000 manufacturing jobs have been added across the country in the last five years.

Of course, there are always further improvements to be made, and the AMP does not want manufacturers to lose any of their hard-earned progress.  Here are the three main bullet points to take away from the AMP recommendations:

• Investing.  The AMP is sinking $3 million worth of investments into three different manufacturing technologies they believe will become the forefront of the industry—advanced materials, particularly those bio-based and composite, state-of-the-art sensors and digital manufacturing.  The money from these investments will not only cover the research and development, but also the implementation into certain ‘technology testbeds’ where Federal research facilities can test out these new processes and prototypes.
• Grants.  During the fall of this year, the Department of Labor is planning to roll out the American Apprenticeships Grant Competition, which will be a $100 million program geared toward encouraging new models and apprenticeships in rapidly growing fields like advanced manufacturing.
• Upgrades.  In the next five years, and across ten different states, the Department of Commerce’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) is enacting a new competition for $130 million for small manufacturers to begin adopting new technologies and/or bringing new products to market.  Additionally, the MEP is planning to build new capabilities at their state-based centers, like the NJMEP’s.

For any more questions regarding the manufacturing industry, or what the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NJMEP) can do for your business, click below: