Moore aims to tackle ‘skill set disconnect’ to alleviate manufacturing worker shortage

Governor tours Xometry manufacturing facility in Gaithersburg on Friday

February 16, 2024 11:28 p.m.

Gov. Wes Moore (D) said Friday that one of the biggest challenges that manufacturers are facing in Montgomery County and elsewhere in the state is a shortage of skilled workers—an issue that his administration is focused on tackling.

“Right now, in the state of Maryland, there are two available jobs for every single person filing for unemployment,” Moore said. “The problem is that we have a skill set disconnect. And while we’re proud that Maryland has the lowest unemployment rate in the entire country, it still means that too many people are being left behind.”

Moore spoke during a press conference Friday afternoon after touring the Xometry manufacturing facility in Gaithersburg. An AI-powered marketplace, the company “provides manufacturers the critical resources they need to grow their business and makes it easy for buyers to access global manufacturing capacity and create locally resilient supply chains,” according to its website.

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As Moore spoke, machines whirred in the background, showcasing the facility’s work.

Moore said that his administration is prioritizing boosting manufacturing in the state and is specifically working to address the shortage of skilled manufacturing workers.

“There is no reason why Maryland should not be leading a revolution around advanced manufacturing,” he said. “Maryland is going to be the envy of the entire country when it comes to manufacturing jobs and manufacturing supports.”

He said the best way to create more skilled workers is for manufacturing companies to get involved in education and create career paths for students.

“Companies in the private sector [need] to be involved in curriculum, trade and educational disciplines to make sure we’re creating that pipeline in the industries of the future,” Moore said. “It means we need to start early. It means we need to be disciplined, and it means we need to invest. And that’s something I think we’re seeing with our administration; we’re taking that very seriously.”

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Xometry CEO Randy Altschuler agreed that businesses can play a role in solving the worker shortage.

“We must work together to [publicize] the incredible entrepreneurial and leadership opportunities in manufacturing and we must encourage STEM education, public-private partnerships and critical on-the-job training,” Altschuler said, noting that 1% of the proceeds from Xometry’s initial public offering go towards scholarships at leading technical community colleges.

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich also attended the event and told MoCo360 after the press conference that Montgomery County Public Schools and Montgomery College also need to play a larger role in training students in the skills that manufacturers seek.

“We need a more robust program in the public school system that introduces kids to jobs like this,” Elrich said. “Just because it’s going to show up in my budget as an expense, in reality, it’s an investment.”

He said Montgomery College has already made progress with its extensive biomanufacturing program, which prepares students for “immediate employment” in the field, according to the program’s website.

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Also, MCPS offers numerous programs dedicated to career readiness, including those offered at the Thomas Edison High School of Technology in Silver Spring and in the Advanced Engineering: Project Lead The Way program, which includes a Computer Integrated Manufacturing course, offered in multiple high schools.

Moore also mentioned the state’s Build Our Future Grant program. It provides $10 million for grants to fund projects “intended to support innovation in an eligible technology sector,” according to Maryland’s Department of Commerce website.

Colleges and universities in the state are encouraged to apply for grants for projects that are “performed in collaboration with private industry” or “offer the prospect of significant economic impact and the opportunity to develop entrepreneurship or clusters of technological innovation in the state,” according to the department.

Moore told the leadership and workers at Xometry that their success and continued growth is inspiring and assured them that the state was there to help.

 “You always will have a partner in this administration,” he said.

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