People from all sides of the debate (including me) have been arguing over the impact of offshore manufacturing since Andy Grove wrote his moving piece arguing that the U.S. needs to produce more goods domestically. But this Newsweek piece by Rana Foroohar really nails the critical issues, bringing to light a new report that provides data instead of just opinion. The bottom line? "[I]t’s innovation, not how cheap or expensive labor is, that determines whether a country will be successful in manufacturing." Via Newsweek:

Contrary to conventional wisdom, manufacturing has not become a race to the bottom. That’s why the U.S. still ranks as the fourth-most competitive nation after China, India, and South Korea, despite vastly higher labor costs. Germany, Japan, and Singapore also hold positions in the top 10. The skill levels of their workers more than offset their costs (U.S. workers are twice as productive as those in the next 10 leading manufacturing economies). Skills are particularly critical in the lucrative high-end manufacturing sector, which accounts for about half of all new innovation within an economy. “Talent will be the oil of the 21st century,” says Council on Competitiveness president Deborah L. Wince-Smith.

Foroohar also makes a point about education that bears repeating:

There are measures the United States can take to shore up its position, though predictably, they aren’t easy. While it’s not politically correct to suggest that perhaps every citizen shouldn’t aspire to a university degree, high-end technical schools that can turn a $16,000-a-year dishwasher into a $60,000-a-year welder may in fact deserve as much private and public money as mediocre four-year liberal-arts colleges churning out students with relatively useless degrees. That idea has worked in Germany, though the Germans have also done a good job producing top-level engineers—another area where the United States lags. A much stronger K–12 focus on math and science would help the U.S. greatly.

Politically correct or not, Foroohar has the right idea. It's time that we in this country stopped denigrating skilled hands-on work, and valued equally the training programs that will equip the nation with the next generation of skilled hands that are crucial for building, repairing, maintaining and innovating the nation's infrastructure. People learn in all different ways, and the best education doesn't always take place in a classroom setting.

Having earned a university degree then gone on to pursue a years-long apprenticeship in the engine room of Fireboat John J. Harvey, I speak from personal experience. Sure, the work that I do doesn't keep power on the grid, but plenty of other trades play a key role in the everyday lives of all Americans. What a difference it would make if apprenticeships again garnered the respect they once had for building the skills that keep our country moving.

Cross-posted on my blog