Preparing for Buffalo's Manufacturing Rebirth

“If you build it, they will come.” The famous movie line from Field of Dreams can now be said about the Buffalo-Niagara manufacturing scene. Since the 1990s Western New York has seen a 45% decrease in manufacturing jobs. However, this trend is turning around, slowly.

For example, 2014 alone saw manufacturing jobs increased by 2% and the growth is only expected to continue. As a matter of fact, manufacturing jobs in the Buffalo-Niagara area are expected to increase 33% by 2020.

From small manufacturing companies like Bak USA adding 100 jobs and Creative Food Ingredients adding 56 new jobs, to larger production companies like SolarCity bringing 2,900 jobs to the area, Buffalo is positioning itself to become a prominent manufacturing hub once again.

This is all great news…right?

Yes, if and only if, Buffalo is ready to capitalize on this manufacturing rebirth.

So, are we ready? Do we have the workforce to fill these positions?

How do companies prepare for the increase demand on engineers in WNY?

 What can existing and new companies do to retain top level engineering talent?

 All these questions will be answered over the next few years. In the meantime, here are a few ways for companies to stay ahead of the curve:

• Invest in recent graduates: Buffalo is close to numerous top-tier engineering schools. Within a 4 hour radius of Buffalo is: the University at Buffalo, Rochester Institute of Technology, Cornell University, Syracuse University, Carnegie Mellon University, and other schools that produce top level talent in technology fields annually. Companies need to be willing to engage new graduates and help them transition into the workforce. Try to Identify students who can help your company stay ahead of the technology curve while infusing new blood into your organization. It will take a commitment from the company to create training programs that help new hires adapt quickly into the company’s culture and work practices. Providing detailed training requires significant resources but will produce loyal employees who buy-in to the company’s mission/values.

• Manage salary expectations: As with any supply-demand curve shift, we should expect an average salary increase for top-level engineers in the area. An increase in the demand for their talents will give the engineers leverage in negotiating salaries. While we don’t know exactly what these salaries will settle out at, companies need to prepare for increases in compensation packages to retain their most valued employees. 

• Keep them challenged: Increased compensation is great, BUT it is not everything. Engineers are often driven by challenges. Keep employees interested in their work by continuously offering challenging problems to solve. This will help keep them engaged and committed to the company’s goals. 

While uncertainty exists, it is an exciting time to be a Buffalonian. After years of decreasing job numbers in the manufacturing and engineering sectors, there seems to be a bright future ahead. How we prepare for this uptick and drive success from the companies that are investing in Buffalo will determine if this growth is sustainable.