Manufacturing Skills Gap Widens in the Wake of COVID-19

They are a few reasons why we are not seeing people lining up to work on the factory floor. First, there’s the old stigma that it’s a dark, dirty, and dangerous place. The study found that the ongoing challenges in attracting entry-level and skilled workers in the right geographic markets are often the result of misconceptions about manufacturing work, especially amongst the younger generations who wonder if it can deliver rewarding career experiences with work-life balance.

“The biggest challenge is perception,” said Carolyn Lee, executive director of the Manufacturing Institute in an interview. “People don’t know these are jobs that they want to look for…It has to be a different narrative today for parents, students, and dislocated workers who say there’s nothing for me there. It’s not true, there’s a lot.”

Creators Wanted Campaign

In an effort to change the perception, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and MI are taking its message on tour, kicking off the Creators Wanted mobile experience which features a 53-foot tractor trailer that will be traveling throughout the country starting in Washington D.C. this fall. The truck has five rooms set up in a gamified escape room experience where teams of four are provided information on modern manufacturing and have to solve challenges to get to the next room, which ends with a picture of the future of manufacturing based on an individual’s interests, showing educational paths or perhaps even local apprenticeship programs. 

“Creators Wanted is perfectly timed to meet the needs of today and talk about what the future of work looks like to eliminate the perceived barriers of entry,” Lee said.

In addition, the Manufacturing Talent study underlines the importance of thinking differently about the kinds of skills required because the other challenge relates to the ongoing digital transformation, which means the skills needed to run a smart factory in the future will be very different than the jobs of today.

Deloitte developed a series of personas to describe the new kinds of roles that will be required in the future. Titles include: digital twin engineer, predictive supply network analyst, robot teaming coordinator, drone data coordinator, smart safety supervisor, etc. The good news is, the roles are not mundane. A robot teaming coordinator, for example, will be responsible for training humans and robots to work together collaboratively for optimal human-machine interactions. An interesting job! However, to be successful, the manufacturing community will need to change its approach to recruiting—highlighting the new career opportunities and expanding its recruiting efforts.

 Deloitte

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Specifically, the report notes the growing need for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). “In manufacturing, DEI is often focused on women because the industry has historically been male-dominated. Fewer than one in three manufacturing professionals are women today, despite representing nearly half of the overall workforce in the United States,” the report said. In addition, a separate DEI study by Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute notes that women are more likely to leave the industry than men, in part due to the circumstances of the pandemic, but it could also be about the way work is organized in manufacturing—noting that the lack of work-life balance and flexible work arrangements have been a top reason that many women give for leaving the industry.

Lear Corp.'s VP of talent acquisition and General Mills engineers address diversity and inclusion.

It’s important to have a diverse workforce for a number of reasons. Of course, offering an environment of equity where all people have fair access, opportunity, resources, and power to thrive is the right thing to do. But having DEI in a company has been proven to drive business performance and innovation. According to the study, “An analysis of Fortune 500 manufacturing companies reveals that companies fostering diversity and building inclusive environments are more likely to have stronger financial performance.” In addition, 63% of manufacturers surveyed link the business benefits of DEI to the ability to attract, retain, and develop talent.

Deloitte

That means manufacturers need to put more role models out there that people will identify with, and write different job descriptions that expand beyond one skillset. “Instead focus on a person’s capabilities,” Lee said. “Diversity and inclusion is not only the right thing to do, but an essential thing to do because we can’t mathematically get there to close the skills gap if [the industry] only attracts white males. The labor force is evolving and we need to make sure all potential workers see the opportunity in manufacturing.”

For more information and recommendations for closing the manufacturing skills gaps, you can find the study here.