Boeing to spend $11m to improve skilled workforce

SAN FRANCISCO — US aircraft giant Boeing Co announced Monday that it will invest $11 million to help train a skilled modern manufacturing workforce to address a possible crisis of skilled workers in the future.

The latest Boeing investment is part of a $21 million partnership with the US National Science Foundation (NSF) to accelerate training in critical skill areas and increase diversity in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.

The NSF's Directorate for Education and Human Resources, which will contribute $10 millions to complement Boeing's investment, will focus on reskilling and increasing the skill level of the US STEM workforce.

In addition, Boeing will give an extra $1 million to the NSF to help boost US innovation leadership.

The funds from Boeing and the NSF will be used to train workers for skills in such areas as model-based engineering and systems engineering, mechatronics, robotics, data science and sensor analytics, program management and artificial intelligence.

Boeing said the first project is expected to be launched next year.

The new investment represents Boeing's fresh efforts to brace for a possible shortage of skilled manufacturing workforce in the future, as the Bureau of Labor Statistics under the US Department of Labor reported a new all-time high in manufacturing job openings in July.

In that month, job openings in the manufacturing sector grew from 475,000 in June to 506,000, the highest level recorded since the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey was introduced in 2000.

Heidi Capozzi, senior vice president of Human Resources at Boeing said the company's partnership with the NSF "will help develop more technical workers and provide research opportunities for women and veterans seeking to join or return to the STEM workforce."

Last year, Boeing pledged to invest $300 million in employees, infrastructure and local communities as a result of US tax reform unveiled by the federal government, with 100 million dollars dedicated to workforce development.