Stronger career pathways are needed in manufacturing in Minneapolis-Saint Paul to maintain the sector’s recent growth. Employment in manufacturing roles dropped to 194,953 in Q4 2017, while sector unemployment dropped from 4.2% to 3% in Q4, due in large part to a tight labor market and record manufacturing vacancies in Q2 and Q3 of 2017–many of which went unfilled. With at least 63,200 manufacturing positions to be filled by 2020 (around 32,200 of these in the industry), employers should focus on development and retention of talent into high-need occupations that lead to career growth in process, technical, or engineering pathways.

The medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturing industry in Minneapolis-Saint Paul has unique talent needs that span manufacturing, production, chemistry, and medical specialties. Over 87% of the state’s medical and pharmaceutical manufacturing occurs in the 7-county metro area, with some of the largest employers in the state represented. The industry is part of what makes the metro unique, with 2.5 times the share of people employed in medical manufacturing in the metro than the nation overall. Employment in medical manufacturing occupations rose an average of 3.2% each year since 2014, compared to 0.9% nationally.

High retirement rates, low training numbers: Multiple career pathways are needed in Manufacturing. Over 25% of workers in the industry are over 55 years of age, and the majority of workers identify as white male. The Manufacturing industry has grown more than anticipated; employment in manufacturing roles rose an average of 1.7% each year since 2014, compared to 1.3% nationally. Sector unemployment sits at approximately 4.2%, due in large part to having less than one jobseeker per vacancy and record numbers of Manufacturing Industry vacancies (6,871) in Q2 of 2017. Employers will need to train workers to fill roles being lost to retirements and increase automation.