Carrier’s move to Mexico has remained one of the biggest stories in Indiana manufacturing this year. The state seems to be recovering from that loss, though.
Carrier’s high-profile exodus appears to just be a blip on the radar for the state’s manufacturing scene, according to Gerry Dick with our news gathering partners at Inside Indiana Business. Just this week, three companies announced plans for investing a combined nearly $300 million, creating some 250 jobs in Indiana, which remains the most manufacturing intensive state in the nation.
Despite that recovery, there does appear to be at least one glaring shortfall.
“I talked to a company just last week who said they were trying to get technology workers,” said Matt Will, associate professor of finance at Uindy, during an interview airing on Inside Indiana Business this week. “Another guy who does a lot of consulting said he went into a dozen companies in Indiana and they all say the same thing: I need STEM workers. I need people with the math skills, technology background. Since you’re not moving boxes anymore, you’re fixing the machines that do the manufacturing, that’s a different skill. And you know what? We’re short in that area. We really need more workers.”
Read more: Inside Indiana Business: Indiana manufacturing bouncing back from Carrier loss