Higher Education and the Manufacturing Industry
The manufacturing workforce is becoming more highly skilled as manufacturing has evolved into a more technology intensive sector. The general education level of the manufacturing workforce has continued to improve in recent years.
Most notably, between 2000 and 2008, the share of the total manufacturing workforce with bachelor's degrees increased from 16 percent to nearly 19 percent, and the share with graduate and professional degrees increased from 5.7 percent to nearly 8 percent.
The share of manufacturing employees with less than a high school diploma fell from 14 percent to just under 12 percent during the same period. These data are one factor underlying the higher wages paid to manufacturing workers who have completed some higher education.
Read more about the positive effects of higher education in the manufacturing field. Consider bolstering your own resume with a college degree.