The Manufacturing Skills Gap: What Is It and How to Solve It?

By: Kylie Stanley, PR Technician 

Certainly, you are aware that we are in the midst of a manufacturing skills gap. Currently within the industry, manufacturing jobs remain empty and companies are unable to find workers who have the knowledge.

Not to mention, the pandemic also contributed to manufacturing jobs vanishing, and now the manufacturing field will be set back decades from the loss.

Propel developed an article and a resource tool to give some insight into the issue and how we can solve it.

The top four causes of the manufacturing gap include:

  • The false job perception
  • Lack of technology skill sets
  • Retiring baby boomers
  • Blue collar work avoidance

When it comes to manufacturing, many people have varying perceptions of what it entails. With these perceptions, people have an idea of what a manufacturing job looks like, but it’s not always accurate. Perceptions of the job can lead to young people not wanting to work in the manufacturing field.

After the perception comes the lack of technology skills. In today’s job market, companies are wanting workers who have several skills to bring to the table. In most cases, workers who are already in the manufacturing field can’t afford to learn additional skills.

A lot of baby boomers are starting to retire, which leads to jobs being empty, and it doesn’t help that younger people don’t want to work in blue collar jobs. Today, there is a stigma surrounding blue collar jobs and most people view it as people who are less educated, however, that’s far from the truth.

Check out the complete article from Propel to learn more about the manufacturing gap and tools to help.

Want to read more about the skills gap?

Matt Sonnhalter Offers Advice on Motivating Plumbers of Tomorrow in Southern PHC’s “Work Force Training.”
Skills Gap Awareness: Are We Making Progress?
Skills Gap: We’re Between a Rock and a Hard Place
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National MFG Day Opens Doors to Entire Month of Awareness

by Rosemarie Ascherl-Lenhard, PR Foreman

Today, October 2, is National Manufacturing Day (MFG Day) and like everything in 2020, it didn’t present the same opportunities as it has in past years.

MFG Day is a team effort to change the perception of the industry, in order to give manufacturing a facelift, as well as address the labor shortages in the industry by connecting with a new generation. The day helps reveal the reality of modern manufacturing careers by encouraging U.S. companies and educational institutions to open their doors to students, parents, teachers and community leaders.

While this year’s global pandemic drastically reduced the opportunity for manufacturers to open their doors to open houses, manufacturers were encouraged to hold virtual events and partner with organizations to showcase their unique opportunities.

Although the first Friday in October is designated as MFG Day, it takes more than just one day. The Manufacturing Institute is encouraging manufacturers across the country to use the day to kick off an entire month of awareness as we are reminded of the important role that modern manufacturing plays in each of our lives.

Use this powerful opportunity to bring awareness to the high-paying, rewarding and meaningful career opportunities in the industry and to open minds to what’s possible with a career in modern manufacturing.

Here’s a quick look at manufacturing:

 

 

Sonnhalter would like to thank all the organizations, manufacturers and educators who help make this important initiative possible every year!

For more on MFG Day, read: Host a Successful Manufacturing Day Event

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Skills Gap Awareness: Are We Making Progress?

By Rosemarie Ascherl-Lenhard, PR Foreman

It’s been a while since we talked about one of our hot buttons: the ongoing skills gap in manufacturing and the trades. It’s good to see that the topic is very much alive and getting continual, positive coverage in the media. Are we slowly experiencing a shift to bring young people back into skilled traded positions? Is the stigma for blue collar positions slowly lifting?

Plenty of industry leaders are doing their part to help bring awareness.

Lincoln Electric recognizes this issue and is leading the challenge to change the perception of manufacturing jobs, which as CEO Christopher Mapes points out, “When people think about welding, they typically don’t think high-tech. Instead, they picture workers with their heads enveloped in welding helmets. That’s not what welding is today…Welding is robotics. It’s metallurgy. It’s software engineering.” Read more about Lincoln’s initiatives for tackling the skill gap here.

Skilled trade’s biggest proponent, Dirty Jobs’ Mike Rowe, who recently published, “The Way I Heard It,” believes, “The skills gap today, in my opinion, is a result of the removal of shop class and the repeated message that the best path for most people happens to be the most expensive path.”

 

While 40 years ago we needed more people to get into higher education, the pendulum swung so far in the direction of promoting higher education, that it has alienated an entire section of the workforce, skilled trades. With 7.3 million skilled jobs unfilled in our country (and 1.6 trillion in debt from higher education), we desperately need the pendulum to swing back.

It seems the messaging is starting to get through.

This recent article articulates how trade schools are now touting how blue-collar professionals such as plumbers, electricians and mechanics make more money than workers whose roles require a college degree.

Perhaps the trend against four-year-college degrees has begun. Many of the fastest-growing professions do not require a bachelor’s degree, and some do not even require a high-school diploma. Could the new six-figure job be trade work?

Let’s hope that more and more of our young people (or people considering a career change) look at skilled trade positions as a viable option for their career path.

If you found this post interesting, check out these additional posts on the topic:

Skills Gap: We’re Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Using the Gender Gap to Close the Skills Gap

 

 

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Honoring the Trades, Building the Future

By Rosemarie Ascherl-Lenhard, PR Foreman, Sonnhalter

It seems especially appropriate to address the subject of “skills gap” today, the third Friday in September, which is also “National Tradesmen Day.” National Tradesmen Day is a day where we honor the men and women dedicated to maintaining the complex infrastructure of our roads, cities, water systems and power grids. The skills and knowledge of those in the trades–electricians, plumbers, masons, mechanics, carpenters and everyone in between–ensure the jobs get done and businesses, homes and entire nations keep running.

While these professionals work day in and out to maintain their skills unique to their trade, the grim reality is that every day qualified workers retire, and the demand for skilled workers grows. In fact, as the country grows, the skilled trades are one of the fastest-growing sectors in the job market today. Their skills and jobs are so valuable, in fact, that training is available in nearly every sector of the skilled trade job market.

The problem is there are fewer and fewer students pursuing an education in the trades. Instead, they have been led to believe that it’s necessary to attend a four-year college in order to get a high-paying, satisfying job. It isn’t. There are other paths to a good career.

Build Your Future, an organization that aims to be the catalyst for recruiting the next generation of craft professionals, elaborates on the advantages of a career in the skilled trades in this guest post.

By 2023, there will be 1.5 million construction jobs that need to be filled. This shortage could be detrimental to the infrastructure and construction projects in America.

As the skills gap worsens, those with a lot of knowledge and experience in the crafts will be highly sought out with high-paying opportunities. Following the idea of supply and demand, this shortage has led to stable, high-paying careers for construction professionals.

With so much opportunity in the skilled crafts arena, it makes sense to explore the many options—and become part of the much-needed team of professionals that keep our nation running smoothly with their hands, their skills, their tools and their training.

Want to read more on the subject? Check out this post:

“Using the Gender Gap to Close the Skills Gap”

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