By Dr. Radha Pyati<\/p>\n
Penn State Berks Chancellor and Dean.<\/p>\n
Chocolate. Pretzels. Batteries. Plastic trays. These are a few of the amazing things made in Berks County, where manufacturing has a rich history and is still our largest industry. Friday\u2019s Manufacturing Summit, hosted by the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance, is a showcase for modern manufacturing and the people who bring the talent to it.<\/p>\n
Although manufacturing offers cutting-edge, in-demand, and high-paying careers, many young people are not yet aware of this career path, and employers cannot find the skilled workers they need.<\/p>\n
Manufacturing is a career field that rewards talent. The average manufacturing worker in Berks County earns about $74,000 per year, according to the Berks County Workforce Development Area Profile. You can do meaningful work at a living wage that enables you to care for your family.<\/p>\n
Berks\u00a0 needs working talent in manufacturing. Dozens of employers need to fill hundreds of openings in manufacturing positions. From first-time jobseekers to current workers to students, you can find the right entry point to join the manufacturing industry in Berks.<\/p>\n
A career in manufacturing gives you a chance to use state-of-the-art technology. Regional companies are using automated systems, robots, and artificial intelligence to manufacture products more safely and efficiently. Companies in Berks are building manufacturing controls that look a little like what was seen on the Starship Enterprise on \u201cStar Trek\u201d: sensors describing how a process is functioning and dashboards giving real-time updates onproduction.<\/p>\n
But bringing this technology to industry requires skilled workers, and Berks County has some serious skills gaps. Our companies need people, but there aren\u2019t enough people with the necessary skills.<\/p>\n
Penn State Berks is tackling this issue head on. We\u2019re educating students to work with faculty and regional companies, through the Manufacturing Innovation and Learning Lab, or MILL, to add modern technology into factory operations.<\/p>\n
Aidan Carr, a Penn State Berks student, took part in this work last year. Together with his team, he studied a regional company\u2019s manufacturing processthat was equipped with older analog sensors and had to be checked manually by a worker. Carr and his team replaced them with new digital sensors. Now the output is read by a computer, and any time the process starts to slip, it can quickly be fixed. This automated process frees up skilled workers to focus on more important tasks while limiting production downtime.<\/p>\n
Penn State Berks brings the expertise of all of Penn State University to this region of Pennsylvania. In fact, it\u2019s part of Penn State\u2019s land-grant mission to serve the needs of the commonwealth. Higher education, workforce training, and career-technology center programming all enable people to gain the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in this high-tech industry.<\/p>\n
Modern manufacturing is a priority not only in Berks but across Pennsylvania. Gov. Josh Shapiro has identified advanced manufacturing as a topindustry for investment. The Manufacturing PA Innovation Program, established by the state Department of Community and Economic Development, is bringing this investment to life, funding projects like the MILL\u2019s collaboration with regional industry.<\/p>\n
These three partners \u2014 education, industry, and government \u2014 are the interlocking gears that move Berks County into the future of manufacturing.<\/p>\n
These partners are working with our elementary, middle and high schools to build understanding and excitement about manufacturing, engineering, and science. Penn State Berks offers summer STEM camps for youth.<\/p>\n
And the \u201cWhat\u2019s So Cool about Manufacturing\u201d annual video contest organized by the Manufacturing Resource Center invites middle and high schoolers to create videos about regional manufacturers. Creating these videos sparks curiosity in young people about the amazing things manufactured by Berks companies. Many of the companies profiled in the videos are household names, and they form the foundation of a long history of prosperity and innovation.<\/p>\n
The Janssen and Thun families built the Berkshire Knitting Mills and its related enterprises and became the largest full-fashioned hosiery manufacturer in the world. But manufacturing in Berks is about more than the past; our industries have always been at the vanguard of innovation, building better products and embracing what tomorrow brings.<\/p>\n