One of the most difficult challenges that manufacturers face in today’s economic climate is the ability to hire and retain qualified talent. Site Selection Group researched the top 20 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) that produced graduates in welding, CNC machining and maintenance technology in the last academic year. St. Louis had the 3rd largest concentration with 544 graduates in welding and 116 in industrial maintenanc.
“Companies investing in the United States for manufacturing operations are starting to accept the notion that a plug-and-play workforce doesn’t exist,” said Josh Bays, Principal, Site Selection Group. “Therefore, they choose locations that have the strongest training infrastructure in place.”