NAM president: innovation is key to competitive economy

By Control Engineering Staff December 13, 2005

Washington, DC —America’s economy must accelerate innovation and the development and utilization of technology if it is to compete successfully, National Association of Manufacturers President John Engler told attendees at a National Summit on Competitiveness at the U.S. Commerce Department last week.

Speaking to more than 55 corporate CEOs, university presidents, and scientists from across the country, he said, “Increasingly, U.S. companies are unable to find the skills and talent they need while some developing nations now turn out more engineers than we do each year.” Engler was referring to the 2005 Skills Gap Report recently released by NAM, the Manufacturing Institute, and Deloitte Consulting.

“China and India are racing to climb the technology ladder,” he added. “We must recognize that we’re in that race, too, and we have to run smarter if we are to maintain our high standard of living and our global leadership.” Engler reminded the summit audience of about 300 that America’s failure to keep pace in research funding and workforce preparedness has been well documented in recent years.

The group met with top administration officials at a day-long event to press for more research and development funding, a greater emphasis on science and math education, and immigration reform for highly educated, high-skill foreign nationals as means of keeping the U.S. economy globally competitive.

NAM is an industrial trade association representing small and large manufacturers in all 50 states and industrial sectors. Click here to read more about the summit.

—Control Engineering Daily News DeskJeanine Katzel, senior editor, jkatzel@reedbusiness.com