Manufacturing Is State’s ‘Sweet Spot’

Whether your top concern is creating more jobs or making Connecticut a better place for business–or if you’re like many who say “both!”–manufacturing is the sweet spot.

Connecticut’s legislative Manufacturing Caucus kicked off the session with its first meeting on Friday, Jan. 30.  Lawmakers created the group three years ago to make sure public policy promotes the vitality and value of manufacturing in the state.

The caucus is led by Sen. Joan Hartley (D-Waterbury) and Rep. Selim Noujaim (R-Waterbury).

The group’s meeting comes on the heels of a nationwide manufacturing study just released by the Economic Policy Institute that found that Connecticut manufacturers pay their employees $6,100 more per year compared with other occupations.

So manufacturers are not only providing job opportunities, but very well-paying ones. And manufacturing is a multiplier—each manufacturing job in the state creates an additional 1.5 to 4 jobs in other parts of the state’s economy.

An urgent priority for Connecticut’s manufacturers is making sure they have the skilled talent pool needed to fill those jobs so they can continue to grow and innovate here in Connecticut.

One way to increase the talent pool is to support fixes to the state’s existing apprenticeship tax credit.

Currently, the tax credit is not working for certain employers because it’s simply too difficult to use, say manufacturers in the state.

Apprenticeship is a win-win for employers and the workforce because it provides a great training opportunity for both parties.

Connecticut needs to increase apprenticeship opportunities and a good way to do that is to fix the tax credit so it can be easily used by Connecticut’s manufacturers.

CBIA encourages the Manufacturing Caucus to support this win win policy for Connecticut’s workforce and manufacturers.