Snyder: Michigan 'coming back with the auto industry'

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder used his opening keynote speech during the Society of Automotive Engineers’ World Congress to tout the state’s comeback and efforts to address the automotive industry’s current employment gap.Watch video

DETROIT, MI- Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder used his opening keynote speech during the Society of Automotive Engineers’ World Congress to tout the state’s comeback and efforts to address the automotive industry’s current employment gap.

“Michigan is coming back right with the auto industry,” said the first-term Republican governor. “We are the comeback state in the United States. We have recovered more than any other state during the Great Recession.”

To help continue the comebacks for both the auto industry and state, Snyder told thousands of engineers in attendance that the state is focusing on “three C’s” to confront the reported employment gap: Collaborate more with the private sector; Create talent by partnering with education institutes; and connecting those two worlds.

Snyder, who just returned from a trade mission to Europe focused on the automotive industry, told reporters after the speech that every company he speaks with mentions that they don’t have enough qualified workers to fill positions.

“We have people still looking for work, but they don’t have the appropriate skills to take those positions today, and so we need to solve that gap,” he said.

Snyder touted a number of programs, including the “Michigan Advanced Technician Training” that aims to combat those stereotypes by offering a work-study program that harnesses companies' need for new manufacturing talent to fund interested students’ education.

Addressing the talent issue, according to Snyder, is a "top priority" for for his administration.

Since the Great Recession, Michigan has grown jobs and balanced its budget, as the U.S. automotive industry has continued to prosper from record sales and profits.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder speaks April 8 at the 2014 Society of Automotive Engineers' 2014 World Congress at Cobo Center in Detroit.Katie Bailey | MLive Detroit

Snyder was introduced by Helmut List, Chairman of Austria-based automotive consulting firm AVL. List described Snyder as "someone who has dedicated his life to creating new possibilities."

This year’s conference theme is “creating new possibilities.” More than 10,000 engineers from around the world annually attend the event, which is expected to have over 170 exhibitors at Cobo Center.

Other keynotes during the annual three-day World Congress include Kevin Vincent, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration chief counsel, who spoke after Snyder; Myles Kovacs, DUB Magazine president and co-founder; and Woong-Chul Yang, Hyundai Motor Group vice chairman; Francis, Automotive Office Michigan Economic Development Corp. senior vice president; and Peter Phleps, BMW Group Institute for Mobility Research senior researcher/futurist.