May 31, 2017
The manufacturing sector of the United States is often times given praise for its effort and assistance in building a thriving American middle class. However, more recently we have seen the manufacturing industry face a serious challenge in maintaining its competitive standing. Over the last ten years or more America’s has faced a dilemma when it comes to skilled trades. The shortages in this work force continue to loom, as the demand grows. By now it is no secret that the hardest segment of the workforce for employers to staff is the skilled trades – the welders, electricians, machinists, etc. The manufacturing sector has dealt with multiple impediments to its full recovery, but there has been sparks of revitalization.
From what we have seen hiring is beginning to pick up, at least in the machinists sector. More jobs are becoming available, but the larger issue we face is there are fewer qualified candidates to fill these roles. There is no denying that one of the greatest challenges that manufacturers must address now is to convince a new generation of workers to make the same career choice generations before them made, when the overwhelming influence is to attend a university. It is fairly common knowledge that now of days American high schools have largely shifted their focus to preparing students for four-year colleges rather than vocational school.
Industrial engineering is far from being the only manufacturing niche affected by this Skills Gap. What happens is skills become outdated — The Skills Gap is made more acute because the skills that many workers have remain valid for just a few years, at best.
The problem of the Skills Gap — heightened by highly perishable skills — underscores the critical need for companies across the manufacturing sector to offer recurring, effective and relevant training to their employees. The solution may be effective training to help remedy to this Skills Gap issue, recruiting and training your own people from within. To be more appealing to the incoming workforce and to bolster their existing one, manufacturing organizations need to provide continuous education.
What is Precise doing about the skills gap? Check out PCMIRochester.com!