Together, The Century Foundation and the Urban Manufacturing Alliance have assembled a cohort of eight leading urban workforce development organizations forging diversity, equity, and inclusion in manufacturing—an effort we’re calling Industry and Inclusion. Our cohort members are seizing on seismic changes in technology and manufacturing, and advancing an inclusive future for the production economy. 

Leaders of Urban Manufacturing Alliance, The Century Foundation, Manufacturing Renaissance (MR), and Jane Addams Resource Center (JARC) participated in the panel discussion about ways in which people of color can build wealth through opportunities in manufacturing — from entry-level careers with pathways to management, ownership, and entrepreneurship. Together the panel explored how they are integrating racial equity into their organizations’ programs, and helped provide insights for others asking:

• How can my organization explicitly center racial equity in a mission and program? 
• What opportunities are the most powerful?
• How much of the racial equity discussion is about serving clients versus changing larger systems?

Andrew Stettner, senior fellow at The Century Foundation, started the discussion by providing context and history about the role that manufacturing had played in stabilizing cities and towns across America. He shared insights about how employment and career opportunities had been broadly accessible through on-the-job training and because mid-sized and larger employers were well-known in local communities. And while from 2010-2019 Manufacturing added back 1.5 million jobs, those jobs aren’t as accessible, equal, or stable as the legacy of manufacturing jobs used to be. Bernadine Hawes, chairwoman, Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center (DVIRC) provided more context about the importance of manufacturing in today’s economy. She illustrated how manufacturing is a critical element of our economy because “Manufacturing turns ideas and thought processes in our head into human centered, tangible materials and products that, generally, enhance the quality of life, without regard to racial makeup or gender.” Guy Loudon, executive vice president-business and industry services, Jane Addams Resource Center, and Erica Staley, executive director, and Dan Swinney, founder, Manufacturing Renaissance, representing two of the eight organizations participating in the Industry & Inclusion cohort, presented how their organizations’ programs are leading to more sustainable, equitable, and just outcomes in their communities by explicitly centering racial equity in the mission and programs of manufacturing focused workforce development. The following are some of the key insights that were shared.

It is important for workforce development organizations to bring the employer community along. Most forward-looking, sustainable companies, at some level, understand the need to create equitable opportunities for their employees, but most small- and medium-sized manufacturers lack resources and sophistication to make a sizable impact. And, JARC and MR have found employers are more receptive to the conversation about equity than most would think. These manufacturers voice that they embrace equity and are open to making it an intentional part of their business practice, but they often struggle to model the values they voice. This means workforce development organizations working directly with employers have to be candid about the impact of their current practices, while also giving them critical and constructive feedback, and helping them access resources and strategies. This requires reframing the conversation to emphasize that the ability to continuously learn, the skill that is necessary for an individual to enter the workforce, similarly applies to the employer.

Both sides, workforce development organizations and manufacturers, have to change. In order for both to stay relevant, they need to co-create a new vision of what manufacturing can be in communities. By convening all relevant stakeholders, communities can recognize manufacturing as a sector that provides broad-based access to meaningful, well paying production-level jobs, and opens opportunities for BIPOC ownership of manufacturing based businesses. With this shared vision, new programs can be designed to create a new reality. To meet this high-sighted goal, workforce development organizations need to raise their standards to make sure they are equipping their trainees with the right skills to get lasting careers in manufacturing. Just having good values and good intentions focused on soft skills won’t make someone employable in a highly technical career. Workforce development programs also have to better understand the role that supportive services play in helping individuals get through the programs and stick to a career path. Finally, workforce development organizations need to partner with high-road employers who see value in creating the new reality for their employees. 

COVID-19 has emphasized the need to have trauma-informed training and an ability to provide direct financial assistance to individuals learning new skills. The country as a whole is experiencing a shared trauma due to the pandemic and communities of color are suffering at higher percentages than white communities. This shock to our systems has illustrated the need for flexible funds to provide direct assistance, which can take many forms, such as helping people get to and from work, or buying boots, diapers, and food. And has made it more important to intentionally weave trauma-informed care and understanding into both technical and personal skill development. These needs were present before the pandemic, but COVID crystalised the need.

The more we are all talking about equity, the faster we can change the practices and cultures around the issues. This includes talking about the difference between diversity, equity, and inclusion, and communicating that Black and Brown people have been involved in the labor of manufacturing from the beginning — but have been left out of ownership. More people need to bring equity into the conversation of education and talk about the importance of looking for talent everywhere, especially HBCUs that are preparing individuals for all levels of the workforce and have been primed for these jobs, and yet are typically invisible when it comes to recruitment. More people need to engage with policy and decision makers to highlight the lack of equity that exists in manufacturing and to put in place new metrics that bring equity into the conversation and stop funding initiatives that aren’t willing to take it on.

We need to focus on and fine tune equitable ownership in manufacturing. And we need multiple strategies to help make this happen. These include promoting employee stock ownership plans as an organization model, creating accelerators to support scaling makers and small batch manufacturers of color start their own businesses, and engaging BIPOC employees in succession training can help create new ownership opportunities for Black and Latinx employees. Currently 60% of manufacturing businesses are owned by white people and in the coming decade a wave of business owners are retiring, creating an opportunity to establish a social program to connect Black and Latinx people to entrepreneurial support and funding to allow them to invest and own these companies. Initiatives like this highlight the need for new metrics to better understand the equitable impact within the manufacturing sector, overall.