On the surface, the manufacturing industry’s “good news, bad news” scenario appears to lean toward the good. The 2016 Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index projects that by 2020, the United States will be the most competitive manufacturing economy in the world, a position currently held by China. And in a recent National Association of Manufacturers survey, 93.3 percent of manufacturing executives said they were optimistic about the future.

Yet, a skills gap persists, and it’s threatening to put a damper on manufacturing’s bright future. In fact, according to a Deloitte/Manufacturing Institute report, more than 3 million manufacturing jobs are expected to open from 2014 to 2024; however, the same study estimates manufacturers will be unable to fill 2 million of them.

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