Windsor must get over its 'manufacturing fetish,' business expert says

Windsor has a "manufacturing fetish" it needs to get over, says a Carleton University business professor.

Ian Lee says the sector is in a lengthy decline, so Windsor must create jobs elsewhere.

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He says if we have to work this hard to get manufacturing companies to invest here, it means there's a problem.

Lee points to a growing service sector, including banking, education and hospitals, as a possible solution.

"It's organic growth in the service sector at large because there are so many opportunities and there's so much demand, that it's just happening spontaneously, organically, while in the manufacturing sector we're trying to force it to make it happen because it is not happening," Lee said.

A report published by the Windsor-Essex Economic Development Corporation in 2011 called Windsor "one of the most manufacturing intensive regions in Canada."

Long-term shift to service industry

Canada has been shifting from a manufacturing to a service-based economy since the Second World War, Lee says.To him, the service sector includes highly-skilled professions like medicine and law.

"This isn't as depressing as it sounds," he said. "The moment people hear the word, 'service' they think restaurants. No, service is everything that is not agriculture, or natural resources or manufacturing."  

Alfie Morgan, a professor emeritus at the University of Windsor, said he disagrees with Lee's assessment.

He said manufacturing can produce economic benefits that aren't possible in the service sector and need to remain part of Windsor's economic base. 

"There is a value added with manufacturing. This does not exist in the same magnitude in other sectors," Morgan said, using the process of turning raw wood into a table as an example. 

Manufacturing jobs usually provide workers with higher pay, he said. 

"Diversification is very important, but manufacturing is still the base and it is the best guarantee for economic prosperity," Morgan said. 

"Look at the 2008 recession that we had in the world, what are the countries that did reasonably well? Germany. France suffered, Italy suffered, Greece went to the dogs. But Germany survived, because it's a manufacturing country." 

The president of the Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce says while Windsor needs to diversify, the manufacturing sector could still be successful.

Matt Marchand says the city needs to sell itself better in terms of what what it has to offer.

He says it also needs to be aggressive when it comes to attracting investors.

He says the city hasn't done a good enough job "in telling our story."

"I think that's going to change but at the same time we have to be prepared at getting things done quicker, permitting, greenfield sites available, quick approvals through government, and a whole mind set of being a little more aggressive because we're competing against jurisdictions right now that are being far more aggressive than we are," Marchand said.

Marchand says Windsor can't give up on the manufacturing sector, it just has to offer more competitive incentives to investors.

Are manufacturing jobs gone forever? 

A Feb. 4 report by Industry Canada suggests that some manufacturing jobs have disappeared forever, investment in equipment is weak and that there's been a jobless recovery even in areas where manufacturing has rebounded somewhat.

The findings are from an analysis of long-run trends in manufacturing prepared for the deputy minister and obtained by CBC News under the Access to Information Act.

The analysis also notes that manufacturing overall has rebounded since the 2008 recession, but "there has not been a corresponding increase in employment, which remains stable at 1.7 million."

A report published by Workforce Windsor Essex listed nine promising sectors for the region between 2012 and 2015.

They included:

• Agriculture.
• Creative Industries.
• Construction.
• Education.
• Health Sciences.
• Manufacturing.
• Professional Services.
• Renewable Energy.
• Tourism Hospitality.