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70 The PCB Magazine • April 2017 This increase in productivity and automa- tion is not limited to the United States, but is part of a seismic shift affecting our electron- ics industry worldwide. Today's manufacturing relies on high-skilled labor, digital tools, and customized automation that increases out- puts and reduces costs. Thus, the first step to advancing U.S. manufacturing is to create a policy framework that fosters today's manufac- turing industry. Specifically, the Trump administration should focus on three areas: • Apprenticeships—Increased apprentice- ship programs for manufacturing workers. • Early STEM Education—Promote STEM education in primary and secondary schools. • Federal Research Funding—Increase federal support for research, development and commercialization of advanced technology through public-private partnerships. Apprenticeships Recent surveys have shown that more than 80% of manufacturing executives believe there is a talent shortage in the United States. Similar statements are heard around the globe. Open- ings for U.S. manufacturing jobs last year aver- aged 353,000 per month, up from 311,000 in 2015 and 122,000 in 2009. A viable solution to this talent shortage is to establish a robust program of apprenticeships, funded and led by public-private partnerships. This model works well in Germany, where com- panies including Siemens and Bosch use ap- prenticeships to train their workers in advanced engineering and manufacturing. Such apprenticeship programs exist in the United States, but on a much smaller scale. Ap- prenticeshipUSA [3] is a public-private partner- ship aiming to ramp up this neglected sector of education. Surely the executive producer of "The Apprentice" should support business-led apprenticeship programs. The U.S. Department of Labor reports that 87% of apprentices in the United States receive employment offers following their training programs [4] . Further, workers who complete ap- prenticeships earn $50,000 per year on aver- age [5] , or higher than the median U.S. annual wage of $44,720. Early STEM Education But support for widespread vocational ap- prenticeship programs will require more than just political support and funding. A wider understanding of advanced manufacturing to- day and the advanced skills required to work in those industries would help de-stigmatize U.S. vocational education, which many view as a last resort for those students not adequately equipped for traditional college. This could start with a broader focus in building foundational STEM skills in early childhood education. Without a robust pipeline of students prepared to pursue advanced STEM education in vocational schools or universities, there won't be talent available for the jobs we're trying to create. As Ball State professors Dr. Michael Hicks and Srikant Devaraj conclude in their study, "The Myth and Reality of Manufacturing in America": The nation and individual states should ac- tively support education reforms at the secondary and tertiary level that prepare students for employ- ment opportunities in manufacturing, which will be large due to job turnover among the baby boom share of the manufacturing labor force. …Human capital interventions should also begin at the pre-K level, focusing on skills that enable acquisition of the mathematical and cognitive skills required of the modern manufacturing workforce [2] . 100 DAYS IN: PRESIDENT TRUMP AND A BETTER MANUFACTURING POLICY