Page 4
edition
CAREER special
March 23, 2016
Investing in
Manufacturing
Research
C ontinUed from f ront
This will be led by PCC as the
educational accrediting partner.
Advanced manufacturing research
activities will be led by local uni-
versity and research partners such
as Oregon State University, Port-
land State University and the Ore-
gon Institute of Technology.
“As the state’s largest higher
education and workforce training
institution serving a five-county
region, Portland Community Col-
lege is thrilled to collaborate with
a consortium of local partners to
support this transformational op-
portunity,” said Sylvia Kelley, in-
terim president of PCC.
Additional stakeholders and
potential partners include Boeing
and other regional metals manu-
facturers, the Oregon Employment
Department, the Bureau of La-
bor and Industries, the AFL-CIO,
Greater Portland Inc., the Oregon
State Building and Construction
Trades Council, the Internation-
al Association of Machinists and
Aerospace Workers and IBEW 48.
Collectively, efforts to create
a local AMRC will facilitate the
long-term goal of developing an
“Oregon Manufacturing Innova-
tion District” in which stakehold-
ers share costs and pool resources
and attract potential new partners.
Long term, project partners an-
ticipate this leading to high-val-
ue manufacturing companies and
their supply chains co-locating,
resulting in significant impact to
and vitality for Oregon’s econo-
my.
“This project presents an ex-
citing opportunity for Boeing
and other industry partners,” said
Mike Starr, general manager,
Boeing Oregon, which employs
more than 1,650 staff who oversee
complex machining and building
of gear systems and flight con-
trols. “Several partners are com-
ing together to problem-solve at
the same time they’re creating
opportunity for students and in-
dustry through training, research
and development. It’s a fantastic
approach, and we’re very support-
ive of it.”
Boeing has experience creating
successful AMRCs with willing
partners. Its first was in 2001 in
Sheffield, England, in collabora-
tion with the University of Shef-
field. Together, the partners trans-
formed a 400-acre empty lot in a
depressed region of the country
into a renowned manufacturing
center that today employs 2,000
engineers and apprentices, assists
500 manufacturing companies
with training and innovation, and
has had a $1 billion impact on the
economy.
Since then, numerous centers
worldwide have been success-
fully replicated from this model.
The goal is to produce a similar
outcome in Oregon supported by
a variety of partners.
“The Machinists Union is a
strong supporter of this endeavor,
one we believe will advance our
trade and positively accelerate the
scope of Oregon’s workforce,”
said Noel Willet, ADBR, IAM
District W24. “Creating appren-
ticeship and training programs is
key to attracting new business and
family wage jobs. And it’s cru-
cial that we all work together to
create a dynamic workforce with
the additional skills required as
manufacturing advances through
research.”
Next steps for PCC and collab-
orating partners include nurturing
workforce development relation-
ships with local metals manufac-
turers and developing curricula
for industry-supported apprentice-
ships.
“A center like this enables us to
bring together experienced teams
who lend capital investment,
equipment and expertise, and
funnel that support to benefit stu-
dents we’re educating and training
for jobs in an industry that offers
growth and opportunity,” said
Kelley.
“The Advanced Manufactur-
ing Research Center model has a
proven track record, and it’s excit-
ing to think of how much Oregon
stands to benefit by creating one
here,” she said.
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