Over the past several years, the Career Pathways initiative has begun to transform Oregon's community college education model to focus on helping Oregonians attain certificates and degrees that lead to high-demand occupations and higher wages. In response to the skilled worker shortage in manufacturing, many community colleges around the state are expanding their Career Pathways programs in manufacturing.

This is an exciting new effort that has direct benefits to both employers and students. To read overviews of the efforts of eleven community colleges to enhance the supply of skilled workers in their region, check out the new section of the website entitled Career Pathways at OregonManufacturing.org. Read more.

Stay informed

for a monthly email update from The Voice of Oregon Manufacturing. We’ll keep you informed of important events related to high performance, lean manufacturing and workforce development and share original feature stories about Oregon’s manufacturing sector.

Get Connected

Welcome to The Voice of Oregon Manufacturing! This is your online information center to find out about what's happening in Oregon's dynamic manufacturing sector. This site collects and consolidates news, resources, programs, contracts, classes and contacts from companies, consortia, industry and labor groups, education and training providers and government organizations. The information is arranged so it's easy to explore, and you can also search by key words to find what you want.

Not only can you find information here, you can contribute, too. After you create a free user account, you can submit a news brief about your manufacturing company, manufacturing consortium or other manufacturing-related organization. You can submit documents and links related to manufacturing that you think your colleagues would be interested in reading or viewing. Finally, if you represent a manufacturing-related organization such as a consortium, union, or education and training provider (not an individual manufacturer) we welcome you to submit a profile of your organization for inclusion in our resources section. The site will continue to gain value as you help us ensure that more content is added.

Why manufacturing matters

Manufacturing is a critical part of the Oregon economy. It makes up 15% of our total economic output, represents almost 6,000 companies, and employs more than 200,000 Oregonians. Manufacturing supports high-wage jobs with an average annual wage--$49,700--that's substantially higher than the average state wage.

Oregon manufacturers recognize they need a competitive advantage to succeed in today's technology-driven global economy. They need ready access to a skilled and productive workforce, lean manufacturing processes and a culture of continuous improvement.

The Oregon Manufacturing Workforce Strategy is meant to fill those needs.

Led by Governor Ted Kulongoski, the Oregon Workforce Investment Board and a statewide steering committee of manufacturers, the Oregon Manufacturing Workforce Strategy is designed to connect the many initiatives and investments being made statewide to support a high-performance manufacturing economy. It will help to build competitive companies, fill the skilled-worker shortage and provide high-wage jobs for Oregonians.

Strategy highlights

• Six high-performance consortia are now up and running, helping more than 150 manufacturers and hundreds of workers adopt high-performance and lean strategies.
• Industry and labor groups across the state are involved in a host of manufacturing-related initiatives, from attracting new talent into the industry, to building new models of apprenticeship, to establishing "centers" of innovation, technology transfer and applied research.
• Community colleges, universities and other education and training providers across Oregon are preparing workers with the academic, workplace and technical skills manufacturers need--including customized training.
• Several funding sourcesare available to help manufacturers offset the costs of worker training, energy efficiency, business plan development and other improvements to their processes, facilities and operations.
• Dozens of national key links provide valuable information on career exploration, manufacturing associations, skill standards, lean manufacturing and many other topics.
• News briefs summarize important manufacturing-related activities and accomplishments across Oregon--there's a lot going on!

The Web site will continue to grow and change as we receive and collect more information. We also plan to add a monthly feature story focusing on a manufacturing "center" of excellence, along with a section on best practices. Contact us with your comments and ideas for adding value to the site. You can also create a free user account and add content to the site directly. Help make this site a strong voice for manufacturing in Oregon.