WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Obama administration on Thursday announced nearly 400 million U.S. dollars to spur new manufacturing innovations and expand workers' skills as the President is on high alert to keep the United States on the forefront of advanced manufacturing.
More than 290 million U.S. dollars will be spent to set up two new manufacturing innovation hubs, as President Barack Obama pledged to launch four new institutes this year. One is in smart manufacturing at the Department of Energy and the other is in flexible hybrid electronics at the Department of Defense, the White House said in a statement.
A total of eight have been launched so far, which puts the Administration past the halfway mark on the President's original goal of creating 15 manufacturing innovation institutes.
The President also announced 100 million U.S. dollars to expand apprenticeships for American workers in high-growth fields like advanced manufacturing and healthcare.
"Our long-term competitiveness for jobs, exports, and investment depends on America's ability to lead on the cutting- edge of technology and on the skills and talent of America's workers," according to the White House statement.
The statement said that manufacturing, the engine behind the nation's surging exports and innovation, contributes to the majority of the nation's exports and nearly three-quarters of its private-sector R&D.
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