January/February 2014

COMMUNITIES: INDUSTRY
Michigan Strives to Become a Global Engineering Village

A new business plan developed by economic and industry leaders in Michigan has an ambitious goal—transforming Michigan into a “global engineering village.”

The goal was developed as part of a larger plan from Business Leaders for Michigan that calls for leveraging existing state assets, such as the state’s strong engineering base, to grow jobs and the economy. According to the organization, its members include the chairpersons, chief executive officers, and senior executives of the state’s largest companies and universities. Together the group’s membership drives more than 25% of the state’s economy, provides more than 325,000 direct and 820,000 indirect jobs in Michigan, generates over $1 trillion in annual revenue, and serves nearly half of all Michigan public university students.

“Michigan leads the nation in the number of engineers per capita, and has the output metrics and earnings power to support tremendous economic growth,” says Doug Rothwell, president and CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan. “We began with these strengths in mind, and reached out to key stakeholders to help develop a business plan capable of strengthening the state’s economy through this industry sector.”

The demand for engineering services also factored into BLM’s decision, according to the plan, which states “complex global problems will continue to require the services of engineers, and Michigan could be uniquely poised to help solve them.”

The plan proposes three strategies for achieving its goal of transforming Michigan into a global engineering village and increasing the engineering sector’s contribution to the state’s economy. While Michigan leads the nation in the number of engineers per capita, there is still a shortage in the state of engineers with specific job qualifications. As a result, the first strategy is to attract engineers from out-of-state and retain those already in Michigan.

“Our first priority must be protecting and building on Michigan’s strong base of engineering talent,” says Ronald Brenke, executive director of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Michigan. “Our plan supports the development of an engineering job center, training programs, and an ecosystem for engineers similar to what Palo Alto [in California] offers for entrepreneurs—venture capital, university research, support services, and so forth—to ensure engineers have the support services they need to thrive.”

The training programs mentioned by Brenke would be designed to help Michigan engineers easily obtain the skills needed to transfer from one industrial sector to another, according to the plan. It is also recommended as part of the first strategy that businesses offer part-time project work to retired engineers and retired engineers be encouraged to rejoin the workforce to help address the demand for engineering talent.

The second strategy is the implementation of a marketing and branding campaign that positions Michigan as a hotbed for engineers. “Too many people still think of Michigan as an ‘old economy, rust belt’ state,” says Christine Longroy with the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. “We’ve got to be aggressive and turn that perception around. Through branding and social media campaigns, engineering-specific conferences and events, and other activities that showcase our engineering strength, we think we can begin to open the eyes of the world.”

The third and final strategy is to strengthen Michigan’s education system and expand practical applications to encourage students to engage in engineering careers, which will require business and education leaders to work together. Recommended actions include expanding and creating new programs that expose high school students to engineering jobs so they are aware of opportunities and identifying methods for lowering the dropout rates of technical degree programs in Michigan. The key recommendation of the third strategy, however, is encouraging businesses and universities to offer more co-op and internship opportunities to help connect students to Michigan jobs before they graduate.

“We need to keep expanding the availability of internship and co-op opportunities, so students leave school with not only the knowledge they need, but the skills and experiences to benefit employers,” says Darlene Trudell, executive vice president of the Engineering Society of Detroit. “These and other educational efforts will help keep Michigan’s engineering sector strong.”

The BLM business plan is one of six the organization has or is developing with stakeholders as part of its larger Michigan Turnaround Plan, the goal of which is to make Michigan a “top 10 state for jobs and a strong economy.” The organization plans to report annually on its progress implementing all six of the plans.