This article is contributed by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

Exporting opens a literal world of opportunity for Illinois manufacturers as 95% of global consumers are outside of the United States. Despite this fact, only 1% of America’s small businesses are active exporters.

 “The idea of selling products outside of the U.S. can be daunting for many companies that may have negative perceptions about foreign market opportunities, the export process, and funding resources,” said Margo Markopoulos, Director of the Illinois Office of Trade & Investment. “Fortunately, the State of Illinois has a robust international trade network that companies can tap into for confidential, customized, and complimentary services created to help Illinois manufacturers successfully promote and sell their products overseas.”

IMEC is helping to bridge the manufacturing skills gap through an innovative new approach. The recently launched Skills Gap Analysis project is expected to help participating manufacturers plan their future workforce requirements and strengthen their communities. Recognizing the urgent need for a project like this in many Illinois manufacturers, IMEC’s president, Dr. David Boulay explains: “One of the biggest issues for managers in the manufacturing sector today is knowing what knowledge and skills workers will need beyond today’s work.  We’ve seen the same series of events occur across many of our client companies: changing customer preferences lead to new products, which then leads to changing the way the work is done.”

It is awe-inspiring to walk into today’s manufacturers and see the efficient and productive way things are made. Yet, even though the United States remains one of the most productive countries, manufacturing productivity has remained flat over the past decade. This should be a major concern. Productivity is a vital foundation for stronger companies, rising standards of living, and vibrant communities.

This is an original article written by Stephanie Neal, Director of DDI's Center for Analytics and Behaviorial Research.

As we kick off 2020, expectations are high for the changes the decade ahead will bring. According to top HR and leadership influencers, this year will challenge leaders to face a new level of workplace transformation. Hot leadership topics for 2020 will continue to be shaped by accelerating technology change, increasing consumer expectations, and hyper-connectivity.

Every year, IMEC hosts the Conference on Enterprise Excellence. During this one day of incredible learning, manufacturers, healthcare professionals, educators, and business leaders come together to share best practices in performance excellence that can be applied to any operation.

You may be wondering: “what can a manufacturer learn from a hospital or a school?” Well, a lot. Every organization has similar areas of focus – leadership, workforce, strategy, operations, customers, measurement and results, and technology implementation. Ensuring that these areas are held to high standards will result in a high performing organization. The 2020 conference features business leaders who have transformed their organizations into reputable, high performing ones by implementing trusted and effective strategies that are replicable for any industry.