Manufacturing creates more high-value jobs than any sector in the global economy and is essential to sustainable economic growth in both the developing and developed world, according to the Manufacturing for Growth – Strategies for Driving Growth and Employment from the World Economic Forum (WEF). Written in collaboration with Deloitte LLP, the three-volume series of reports examines key trends, effective strategies and best practices related to the global manufacturing sector in three key areas:

Talented human capital is singled out as the most critical resource differentiating the prosperity of countries and companies in the manufacturing sector, according to a new report from the World Economic Forum. Even as unemployment remains high across the globe, an average 10 million jobs cannot be filled because of a growing skills gap. Experts say the problem is likely to worsen as more skilled workers retire. The report highlights key trends that will define manufacturing competition over the next 20 years.

Whether in creating new businesses, developing a skilled workforce, or building stronger connections between universities and regional economies, governors and lawmakers have taken a “grow your own” approach to economic recovery over the past two years, finds a report from the National Governors Association (NGA). The report identifies six trends that have emerged during this time, including states emphasizing job creation from within, strengthening support for advanced manufacturing, and creating partnerships to meet industry’s demand for talent.

The Brookings Institute, in partnership with the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), released three bold policy proposals intended to bolster the competitiveness of the U.S. manufacturing and advanced industries sector by improving innovation, workforce, and higher education connections.

Following a year-long policy academy intended to help states prepare new strategies for economic growth by fostering collaboration and shared experiences, eight states have agreed to bring a renewed focus to advanced manufacturing. State leaders concur that the manufacturing sector is too important to lose and is rapidly evolving. With change, however, comes a unique opportunity to capture new leadership roles and address global issues that threaten public health and safety.

The White House recently released Capturing Domestic Competitive Advantage in Advanced Manufacturing, a blueprint intended to serve as a national framework for the sustainable resurgence in advanced manufacturing in the United States. The report was written by the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP) steering committee, a national public-private partnership formed by the Obama administration in 2011 to help increase public and private investments in advanced manufacturing and create high-paying manufacturing jobs.

U.S. economic policy will require a renewed focus on production and globally traded sectors in order to restore U.S. competitiveness, according to a new report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF). Furthering the argument laid out in the recently published book Innovation Economics: The Race for Global Advantage and in last year's report "The Case for a National Manufacturing Strategy", ITIF's Stephen J. Ezell and Robert D. Atkinson present 50 recommendations for federal reform to restore the U.S.' competitive edge.

The Council on Competitiveness in partnership with Deloitte released Ignite 2.0: Voices of American University Presidents and National Lab Directors on Manufacturing Competiveness, the second installment of a three-part series on improving U.S. manufacturing competitiveness. According to the report, talent-driven innovation, education and advanced skills development coupled with research, science, technology and full life-cycle commercialization are the necessary drivers for a U.S. manufacturing resurgence.

President Barack Obama recently announced the creation of a national Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP) to accelerate the development of manufacturing technologies at top engineering universities. The AMP initiative, which was developed based on recommendations from a report by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), would leverage existing programs and proposals to invest more than $500 million in university and private R&D. The partnership is being called an "umbrella" for federal innovation programs.

The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) released International Benchmarking of Countries' Policies and Programs Supporting SME Manufacturers — a new report that identifies and analyzes manufacturing support programs and practices for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have been implemented in ten foreign countries (i.e., Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, Korea, Spain and the United Kingdom), in addition to those of the United States. The authors, Stephen Ezell and Robert D.

The answer may not be clear, but both sides can agree the U.S. skills gap will continue to deepen if changes do not occur. In the U.S. manufacturing sector, the skills gap may be less pervasive than many believe, according to a report from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). BCG researchers estimate the U.S. is short 80,000 to 100,000 highly skilled manufacturing workers.

In the aftermath of an election cycle in which manufacturing emerged as a key point of contention in many races, several groups are taking stock of the state of U.S. manufacturing competitiveness. The 2012 edition of the Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index, based on a survey of senior manufacturing executives, projects that the U.S. will fall from third most competitive nation to fifth over the next five years. In order to stave off declining competitiveness, authors of a McKinsey Global Institute report suggest that manufacturing be viewed as a critical driver of U.S.

Two organizations have in recent weeks called on the United States to create a national federal office of innovation to help focus and concentrate innovation across the country.

Expanding the federal research tax credit and making it permanent could help generate $10 billion per year in research activity, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Treasury's Office of Tax Policy. Treasury also suggests that the enhanced credit could expand use of the credits, which already generate a one-to-one match in research spending and help support almost one million jobs. The current credit, which has been reauthorized temporarily 14 times since its introduction in 1981, is set to expire at the end of the year.

The Global Clinton Initiative (GCI) and five partner organizations announced a regional pilot program that will create a manufacturing supply chain network to support small- and midsized-manufacturers in the Hudson Valley region of New York. The goal of the pilot program is to create a scalable model that will ultimately provide a framework for a nationwide supply chain network and grow the country’s manufacturing base.

The Great Recession forced a number of U.S. manufacturers and service providers to look outside national borders to not only succeed, but to survive in the face of a weak domestic market. In their latest report, On the Threshold: Refocusing U.S. Export Assistance Strategy for Manufacturers, Stone & Associates argues that the U.S. must focus on bolstering manufacturing exports as a way to lessen U.S. reliance on its domestic market, reduce the trade deficit, and foster job creation.

Last week, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Production in an Innovation Economy (PIE) Commission released its findings from two years of research on how to remove the barriers that prevent the U.S. from turning its strengths in science and research into jobs, businesses and products. In order to ensure that American innovations reach the marketplace, the U.S. must rebuild its manufacturing sector, with particular focus on improving the support ecosystem for smaller advanced manufacturing firms, according to the commission.

A large majority of U.S. manufacturing jobs are located in large metropolitan areas, according to a new paper from the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program. In 2010, about 79.5 percent of manufacturing employment was centered in large metros and in central metropolitan counties. Over the past two years, however, there has been a slight shift in manufacturing activity back towards non-metro areas, as U.S. manufacturing has experienced a small resurgence.

As global economies shift, developing nations are attempting to transition as suppliers of raw materials to nations that are producers of value-added goods. Africa has been a major supplier of raw materials to the developed world. However, it drastically lagged behind in the production of valued-added goods. Recently, African nations have attempted to reinvent their economic development efforts from suppliers to producers by developing programs to grow tech-based economies.

American manufacturing companies cannot fill as many as 600,000 skilled positions — even as unemployment numbers hover at historic levels — according to Boiling Point? The Skills Gap in U.S. Manufacturing, a new report from Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute. This annual skills report provides a stark snapshot of the manufacturing sector's inability to find qualified workers.

U.S. policy prescriptions for manufacturing are in disarray according to Make: an American Manufacturing Movement, a new report from the Council on Competitiveness. Policymakers, the report's authors contend, are bombarded with widely available reports and analysis that support one of three conflicting views (it is on steep decline, doing reasonably well or it is poised for growth) on the health and importance of U.S. manufacturing.