Jobless Marylanders could find success in manufacturing, experts say

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Could manufacturing jobs be a part of Maryland’s economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic? Experts say yes — but only if workers know that those positions exist.

Maryland has an ideal infrastructure to act as a manufacturing hub, economist Anirban Basu, chairman & CEO of Sage Policy Group, told viewers at a webinar hosted by the Regional Manufacturing Institute of Maryland. It’s close to major cities like New York and Chicago and has access to European markets via the Port of Baltimore.

Maryland also has a number of highly regarded research institutions pushing out new ideas — the products of which end up being manufactured elsewhere.

Despite the numerous advantages the state has that could make it a “manufacturing dynamo,” Basu said, Maryland actually has few manufacturing jobs compared to the rest of the country.

Whereas manufacturing makes up 10% of private employment nationwide, it only makes up 5% in Maryland, Basu said. The manufacturing industry also makes up 13% of the nation’s private economic activity, but only 7.8% of Maryland’s.

States like South Carolina vastly outpace Maryland in manufacturing despite less accessibility to major cities and fewer research institutions. 

High business taxes and costs largely account for Maryland’s difficulty attracting manufacturers, experts say.

But although Maryland isn’t a hub for manufacturing, there are still thousands of unfilled manufacturing jobs in the state, with the Maryland Department of Labor reporting that there were over 9,000 vacancies in the manufacturing industry in October alone.

Despite these vacancies, most young people don’t take those jobs, either because they are not aware of them or because they don’t find manufacturing work appealing.

“We have an image problem,” said Michael Galiazzo, president of RMI. “People think we’re back in the day of Bethlehem Steel, and we’re not. It’s such a high-tech, advanced industry.”

Basu also noted that transitioning from one job to another can be challenging, which is why those laid off during the pandemic, such as former restaurant or hotel employees, are not jumping at the opportunity to apply for manufacturing positions. 

Comptroller Peter Franchot said that this could be solved by incentivizing companies, through tax forgiveness, to conduct their own training programs. He also said he believes that the K-12 curriculum should be reworked to include practical skills for students going into skilled labor fields. 

“There’s a huge problem, I think, in taking folks who are oriented towards manufacturing … asking those folks to sit in an academic environment like community colleges, as much as I support the community college,” he said. “I think it’s not really an adequate exit ramp into a manufacturing job.”

In response to an audience comment about how manufacturing employees, even at jobs with relatively high pay and substantial benefits, sometimes fail to show up to work on time or adequately complete their duties, Basu said he felt that this is because “the consequences of losing a job sometimes are not as harsh as they should be.” 

Unemployment insurance and other “alternatives to work,” he said, act as a disincentive for employees to be reliable at work. Because of this, manufacturers have to make a greater effort to attract Marylanders who are genuinely passionate about and committed to their work.

Basu anticipates 2021 will be a strong year for the economy in general, and for Maryland manufacturing, citing vaccines being manufactured in Baltimore and the possibility of wind turbines being manufactured in Maryland. 

“If we play this right, we can have that Maryland manufacturing miracle. It’s not just a fantasy. The amazing thing is that it hasn’t happened already,” he said.