In an article published in the Q3 issue of Area Development, Warren Matthews provides insight on the benefits of strengthening infrastructure as we anticipate continued growth in the Southeast’s auto manufacturing sector.

“State economic development agencies and communities have become sophisticated about evaluating the economic value a company brings to a community, and they usually are good partners in these location decisions,” states Matthews.

Nevertheless, people are still the most important infrastructure. He emphasizes, “Modern manufacturing requires STEM skills, critical thinking, aptitude for working with software and computer-assisted machinery, teamwork as well as the ability to make independent decisions.”

Some of the most pressing issues are lack of access and resources to properly train workers. For instance, Germany uses apprenticeship programs to train workers for skilled manufacturing and trade jobs – which would be a sea of change in our country’s current education model.

According to Matthews, over the past five years, we have seen more communities recognize that their best prospects may already be in their backyard.

“Make your needs known. Companies providing quality jobs away from the big cities have never been in a better position to ask for the infrastructure and incentives they need in order to partnership with a local community,” he encourages.

You may access the full version of the article here.