If there were one thing you could do to create to kickstart the ongoing education and construction of manufacturing–how it works or how helpful it is to society–what would you create? Where would you create it?

For President Obama, the answer to that question is a series of manufacturing institutes.

In 2013, President Obama announced his plans to create a manufacturing innovation hub and created a pilot program in Youngstown, Ohio. His hope is to some day have 45 institutes in all across the nation.

Today, , the President will be announcing two new manufacturing institutes that will be created to attract and bring in new business that will hire workers for new higher paying jobs within the United States.

The two institutes will be in Chicago and Detroit.

These two institutes will have different focuses. The one in Detroit will focus on lightweight and modern materials, while the one in Chicago will have a focus on digital technology.

Just like the manufacturing hub created in North Carolina, these two new institutes will try to deliver new high-tech manufacturing ideas while educating the population around them.

$280 million from the Department of Defense will help fund these institutes, while another chunk of money will come from the private sector.

President Obama has been creating these manufacturing hubs around the nation because the focus of his second term has been largely on making life better for middle-class and lower-income families. And to help this push, the President has started creating manufacturing jobs, many of which were lost during the 2007-2009 recession when companies started looking for cheap labor abroad.

But what exactly is the point to create these new institutes?

Well, as we see it, the aim of these institutes is to take advantage of the United States’ many universities and attract corporations to be closer to researchers and newly educated skilled workers. These institutes will be created as a means to bring together skilled workers, firms, and competitors to share new ideas on commercialization and invention.

The programs also hope to focus on students, as well, exposing them to unique training opportunities and individuals within the business world.

As CNN notes, a White House official said that the President is committed to building on the progress of the manufacturing sector that has continued successfully growing. A promise of a higher growth in manufacturing jobs through these collaborative institutes is part of what’s helping keep modern manufacturing innovative and on its feet.

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