According to the National Association of Manufacturers’ latest Outlook Survey, 90% of manufacturers are optimistic about their company’s future. Yet the same survey also found 70% of manufacturers expressing serious concerns about their ability to find skilled workers capable of maintaining the momentum of the industry. This gap between open jobs in the manufacturing sector and the number of workers able to fill them represents one of manufacturing’s biggest challenges in the next decade.
A 2018 report published by the 制造业 Institute shows that the manufacturing skills gap is expected to result in as many as 2.从现在到2028年,有400万个职位空缺. 反过来,超过2美元.5万亿美元的制造业GDP可能岌岌可危. 这是正确的, 亿. These “skilled positions” require specific training or skillsets and often take months to fill. They include everything from digital and supply chain personnel to production workers, 研究人员, 工程师, 软件开发人员和运营经理.
The Institute’s report indicates that positions often go unfilled as a result of the negative perceptions of the industry (45%), the notable shift in desired skillsets due to the introduction of advanced technologies (36%) and the retirement of the baby boomers that previously occupied these positions (36%). 在接下来的几年里, the inability to fill open positions is expected to have the greatest impact on the growth of manufacturing companies. 劳动力有限, it will become challenging for manufacturing companies to satisfy growing customer demand and respond to new market opportunities.
幸运的是, manufacturers are already using a variety of approaches to mitigate the expected shortage, 从采用学习和发展计划, to creating short-term project opportunities for recent retirees. 作为附加措施, 83% of companies surveyed also reported that they are prepared to pay more to attract and retain skilled talent.
Manufacturers must continue to be proactive but also think long-term in their approaches. Attracting a diverse cohort of workers with a wide breadth of both knowledge and experience can only be beneficial, as artificial intelligence and robotics are expected to transform the industry in ways yet to be seen. Developing human-machine collaboration as well as training programs that engage a multigenerational and diverse workforce will be vital to their success.
Organizations that support manufacturers should take heed as well, 包括学校, 技术项目, 企业和政策制定者. As STEM programs pop up in schools across the country and more businesses offer hands-on apprenticeships to students, the potential for positive change far outweighs the risk of stagnation.