Meeting the Workforce Skills Gap

The current reality is there is a shortage of talented, skilled and experienced manufacturing workers to fill the needs of many organizations.

There’s even a shortage of young workers capable of meeting the employment needs of all industries. According to the CBIA 2017 Survey of Connecticut businesses, 43% of businesses are having difficulty finding and retaining young workers. Plus, over 60% of businesses say that 15% of their workforce will retire in the next 2 – 5 years which only exasperates the issue.

So, what are you to do? Investments in automation may help to a degree, but while a recent McKinsey Institute report states that American manufacturers will continue to buy complex automation systems far into the future, there are many problems operating and maintaining this equipment, and simply not enough workers with these kinds of skills in the United States.

The essence of this problem is that the workers needed do not exist and will have to be created with training that matches the skills that companies need.

Offering higher wages and better benefits to motivate workers to come on-board may make a slight dent in your staffing needs. But at the end of the day, demographics dictate there’s a tight supply of a skilled available workforce, to meet the growth objectives of many manufacturers.

Lean Manufacturing Develops Effective People...

Embracing a Lean Culture could be the answer to the people shortage and automation training needs you are facing in your business. A key benefit is improving the flow of work, while providing employees the new skills required to be successful. In many cases, it provides a way to do more with less.

We are Connecticut's Manufacturing Extension Partnership center and an affiliate of the CBIA, helping businesses take advantage of expert solutions to compete and grow profitably. Please take a look at our website at: https://www.connstep.org