When Faraday Future folded plans last year to build an electric-car factory in North Las Vegas, it almost torpedoed a fledgling manufacturing program.

The College of Southern Nevada had received a roughly $1.6 million state grant to provide manufacturing skills to the workforce officials anticipated needing for the expansive factory, said Joe Woods, senior specialist for the college’s manufacturing programs. But uncertainty permeated the air after Faraday Future halted constructing its planned facility at the Apex Industrial Park.

“I think there was some hesitancy because no one really understood what the process would be,” he said. “They heard people talking about a need, but quite honestly, they weren’t quite sure what direction to go with it.”

Fast forward one year. The Manufacturing Skills Training Program, which started in April at CSN, is on track to have 60 graduates by the end of August, Woods said.

The 12-week, “boot camp”-style program — free to Nevada residents not already employed in the manufacturing industry and who will be 18 years old by course completion — was designed to give students the foundational skills needed for the field, he said. It’s not specific to any one manufacturing company in Southern Nevada. (There’s also a shorter, online-only class offered for those who can’t commit to the longer course.)

Woods said the decision to continue launching the program, despite Faraday Future’s exit, proved pivotal. He regularly receives calls from local manufacturing companies in search of skilled workers, who could earn anywhere from $10 to $16 an hour.

“The need is great so we’re trying to meet it as quickly as possible,” he said.

The workforce conundrum — available jobs but too few workers — is one of the main takeaways from a manufacturing report recently published by the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance (LVGEA), which conducted 36 in-person interviews with various local company leaders.

Some of the respondents’ comments about the workforce included:

• "Finding reliable labor (with a low unemployment rate) is very hard to come by.”
• "Labor supply is at its worst in the last 20 years.”
• "Low cost of doing business is offset by lack of available workforce.”

The LVGEA declined to name the companies interviewed for the report. But Jared Smith, the chief operating officer for the LVGEA, said the organization’s definition of manufacturing is very broad, including everything from employees working with metal to those growing food.

The report, he said, is “further validation” of the importance of manufacturing in Southern Nevada’s economy. The LVGEA identified manufacturing as one of its target industries last year, noting that it’s growing more rapidly here than the national trend. That’s a drastic change for the industry, which was pummelled locally during the Great Recession and reduced employee levels by 30 percent between 2008 and 2010.

The workforce concerns mirror results from another recent survey conducted by UNLV’s Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER). While local company officials expressed confidence in the overall market, a majority cited concern about finding qualified employees.

Stephen Miller, professor and director of CBER, said manufacturing remains a smaller segment of the local economy but is an important factor, especially with some of the higher-paying jobs it brings to the market. Business and health services appear to be the faster-growing sectors, he said.

“Workforce is a problem,” he said, referring to multiple Southern Nevada industries. “We know that.”

Still, local economist John Restrepo said the LVGEA’s report on the manufacturing industry should be a “call to action” to bolster the workforce. Changes won’t happen overnight, but he said the state should be evaluating how it leverages federal dollars for workforce skills training and development.

“Are we using that money wisely?” he said.

The LVGEA report also touched on local manufacturing companies’ expansion plans over the next two years. Sixty percent of companies surveyed stated a desire to expand, but of those, 58 percent said they plan to do so outside of Nevada. Their reasons: developing new market share and accessing a better supply chain and workforce.

Restrepo cautioned reading too much into that finding as it’s a short-term issue.

“It’s really more of a timing issue,” he said.

Marcus Prater, executive director of the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers, echoed that sentiment. He pointed to recent expansions in the specialized gaming manufacturing industry as proof that companies aren’t looking to flee Southern Nevada.

Komani Gaming doubled the size of its Las Vegas headquarters a few years ago. Ainsworth opened a 291,000-square-foot facility in the southwest valley two years ago. And Aristocrat Technologies is building a new complex near Hualapai Way and Interstate 215. All three companies manufacture slot machines.

“It’s the gaming technology hub of the world,” Prater said. “Whether it be a slot machine exported to Monaco or whatever it may be, all of that intellectual property that drives the global gaming industry is based here.”

Much of the manufacturing workforce issues revolve around so-called middle-skills jobs, which require some post-high school training but not necessarily a college degree. But Prater said the industry’s gaming sector needs more high-paid workers, such as engineers and software developers — illustrating just how broad the region’s definition of manufacturing is.

“We need to draw new talent from the Silicon Valley and other technology centers,” he said. “We want new ideas, new thinking to come into the gaming sector.”

The upside: The LVGEA survey identified a number of reasons manufacturers favor Las Vegas, including its proximity to major population centers throughout the West and a relatively lower cost of living.

Smith emphasized that manufacturing is just one component of the economic agency’s overall effort to enhance the Las Vegas workforce.

“While we’ve had big wins, we’re not ready to stop,” he said. “If anything, it’s important to invest in economic development when times are good.”

To that end, CSN officials have invited manufacturing companies to discuss creating an apprenticeship program, which could launch as soon as next summer.

“We’re excited about what the possibility holds,” Woods said. “It’s going to give Southern Nevada a much greater influx as we start to turn out more students.”

This story was updated at 10:20 a.m. to correct the grant amount, after a College of Southern Nevada official realized he had given the wrong number.