The 4th Industrial Revolution is upon us. Over the next 10 years, more than half of the $12 trillion global economy will be disrupted and redistributed due to the accelerating growth of 3D printing. The United States must act now to capitalize on the creation of 3-5 million potential new jobs related to additive manufacturing over the next 5-10 years. This includes a commitment from government, industry and academia to ensure the proper curriculum, training, and certifications exist for the American workforce of the future.
CPPI recently hosted a standing-room only interactive discussion about preparing the American workforce for the adoption of 3D print in manufacturing. We thank Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH-13), Co-Chair of the House Manufacturing Caucus, for hosting the event and providing opening keynote remarks, as well as remaining for the panel discussion. Representative Ryan reinforced how critical 3D printing is to the future of manufacturing. In fact, his district through American Makes and Youngstown State University, exemplify the true value of 3D printing for local communities. The 13th District of Ohio serves as leaders of the technology, but also have begun benefiting from local job creation.
The conversation continued with a panel of government, industry, and academia; moderated by Tim Heller, Director of 3D Print, HP Inc.
- US Representative and Co-Chair of the House Manufacturing Caucus Tim Ryan (D-OH-13)
- Ben Bouffard, Additive Manufacturing (AM) Lead for the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research, Development, Test and Evaluation U.S. Department of the Navy;
- John Danko, President, Danko Arlington Inc
- James Tressel, President, Youngstown State University (YSU)
Themes from the panel included:
- What we can learn from 3D manufacturing innovators such as Danko Arlington Inc, the US Department of the Navy, and Youngstown State University (YSU) to help scale to a national level
- The true promise 3D manufacturing has for bringing jobs back to local communities
- The need for a more formalized, nationally-recognized trainings, certifications, and curriculums
- The importance of partnering with local academic institutions to help retrain the workforce and redefine a small business with 3D manufacturing