I love October because of all the events, nationwide, celebrating our country's manufacturing prowess. I love to see young kids learn about careers in manufacturing and make connections for future jobs. I'll be honest, after having toured hundreds of manufacturing facilities, I still get excited every time I get the chance to tour another one. The innovations and work ethic of American manufacturers are impressive, and I want to support them.

For those of you who don't know, my company spends about half its time working with manufacturers and the other half working with economic development organizations (EDOs) nationwide. We learn firsthand how manufacturers make decisions about growth, which in turn helps us inform EDOs how to make their business communities more hospitable to manufacturers. At the same time, we interview hundreds of manufacturers nationwide each year, which in turn helps us provide up-to-the minute insights on how other manufacturers in different industries and locations have addressed challenges successfully.

Manufacturers have led the siren song about the lack of available talent and the implications that this does and will have on America's manufacturing future. What I want to share with you today is what the economic developers are doing about workforce and talent...