Changed lives

This emerging story inverts the popular belief that there's something permanently wrong with manufacturing or, perhaps, with the entire economy, so wrong that great numbers of people simply can't ever expect decent work. Such a belief leads either to schemes to rewrite economic rules or to a despair that, without massive intervention by the state, the future is hopeless.

The future is not hopeless either at the macro level or for individuals. People who want better work can adapt, which is a lot more likely and feasible than changing everything else to accommodate them.

Not that this means they're on their own. Gateway's success shows that if public policy has a role, it is to create opportunities for people to change.

"We firmly believe there are lots of good programs out there," said McNelly, who before working for the Manufacturing Institute oversaw job training innovation for the U.S.