What rust belt? Michigan's two largest cities ranked in 'Top 5' for advanced manufacturing and engineering jobs

General Motors Components Holdings plant in Wyoming 01

Machine operator Marco Sanchez loads high-precision engine components at the General Motors Components Holdings plant in Wyoming Thursday, Oct. 16, 2014.

(File photo | Mlive Media Group)


GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Michigan's two largest cities are beginning to shed their "rust belt' reputation for a shinier, high-tech image that emphasizes their growth in advanced manufacturing and engineering jobs.

"Change The Equation,"
a non-profit group that emphasizes STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) literacy in schools, listed Detroit and Grand Rapids on two of its "Top 5" lists for advanced manufacturing and new engineering jobs. The lists were published in October.

Aging and male-dominated workforces offer great opportunities for young workers and women with STEM skills in those cities, the group said.

The organization listed Grand Rapids and Detroit as 2nd and 3rd behind Toledo, Ohio, in its list of top five cities for growth in advanced manufacturing. Energy sector hubs Houston, Texas and Tulsa, Okla. were listed 4th and 5th.

“Grand Rapids doesn’t generally leap to mind as a manufacturing center, but of the nation’s largest 100 metro areas, it boasts the highest concentration of advanced manufacturing jobs. The 42 percent increase in those jobs over the past five years has certainly helped its standing.” the group said.

“Detroit has been the poster child for industrial decline for so long that many have missed the quiet renaissance of the city’s manufacturing sector,” the group said. “The advanced manufacturing jobs we examined have grown 37 percent since 2009, driven, no doubt, by the auto industry's recent return from the dead.”

Those rankings also open the door for opportunity. “These middle-skilled advanced manufacturing jobs are likely to become even hotter as older workers retire. Fifty-two percent of the advanced manufacturing workforce is 45 or older,” the group said in its list.

RELATED: Click here to see rankings for the Top Five cities for advanced manufacturing

In a separate ranking based on the growth in new engineering jobs, Detroit was ranked No. 1 while Grand Rapids followed No. 2 Chattanooga, Tenn. in third place. Des Moines, Iowa and Houston were ranked 4th and 5th, respectively.

Calling Detroit a “Cinderella story,” Change the Equation noted the Detroit area has gained 15,000 new working engineers in the past five years.

“Yet there may be trouble on the horizon,” the group said. “More than half the city’s engineers are 45 or older, and a mere 12 percent are female. An aging, mostly male workforce is not a great prescription for future growth.

“Maybe the combination of high salaries and a low cost of living can lure newly-minted female engineers to the Motor City. The $87,000-plus median salary in Detroit would be equivalent to almost $200,000 a year in Manhattan.”

Grand Rapids has seen a 28 percent growth rate in new engineering jobs, the group said.

“The auto industry has helped buoy up the Grand Rapids economy, but the area also owes its growth to investments in industries ranging from smart manufacturing to agribusiness.”

RELATED: Click here to see the Top 5 cities for new engineering jobs.

Tim Mroz, a spokesman for the Right Place Inc. economic development agency, said the rankings confirm the region’s emphasis on its manufacturing base.

“While many other communities around the country have given up on manufacturing, West Michigan has doubled-down. Our region’s manufacturers are growing, investing and expanding at a pace we haven’t experienced in a decade,” Mroz said in a statement.

“West Michigan manufacturers are taking a proactive approach to building workforce development relationships with area colleges and universities. They understand that the only way to ensure they have the current and future talent to support growth is to take an active role and engage in the talent pipeline.

The rankings point to the need for continued emphasis on STEM literacy, Mroz said.

“The critical component of the future of manufacturing success in the U.S. will be the need for quality talent. Without knowledgeable talent, machines don’t operate and production stops.

“That is why we at The Right Place and the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center (MMTC-West) are working so hard to connect manufacturers and adult educational programs to take an active role in building West Michigan into a world-class talent pool for manufacturing.”

Jim Harger covers business for MLive/Grand Rapids Press. Email him at jharger@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter or Facebook or Google+.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.