The technical skills crisis has created critical strains on manufacturing companies. Thanks to an aging workforce, including 2.7 million retiring Baby Boomers, the manufacturing industry suffers a severe unavailability of talent. This means that more than two million technical and engineering positions will go unfilled by 2025.
Most manufacturing companies cannot afford to lose skilled, experienced talent because of poor recruiting, onboarding or retaining practices. Every organization in North America is scrambling to find skilled talent. There is a significant challenge in creating development programs. It’s important for companies to have in place the proper recruiting and onboarding processes. This will give you higher percentages of quality employees who stay with you.
As Vice President of Sales at Performance Consulting Associates, Inc. (PCA), I work with our human resources (HR) department to present an efficient way for an organization to learn more about the candidate and develop a better understanding of their skill set. At PCA, we train HR professionals to look at a person’s skill set and then put them into a job that best fits. We work closely with companies on the proper approach to enhance a candidate’s experience and keep them engaged.
In this two part series, I will go through the steps necessary to build and maintain a qualified workforce in today’s changing skills landscape.
The Issues with Recruiting Today
The 2008 recession hit the manufacturing industry in two distinct ways. First, training programs came to a halt, which greatly affected the maintenance, reliability, and engineering professions. Secondly, the Baby Boomer generation had to extend their careers due to the loss of pensions and 401ks.
Fast forward to 2018, the economy has rebounded. However, the younger workforce is not as interested in maintenance, technical, or skill trade roles. Companies are scrambling to put together development programs, as Baby Boomers are rapidly leaving with their decades of experience and knowledge.
We are trying to help companies get back to the basics with human capital. What is the proper way to recruit, onboard and train? We lay out this process so that organizations can improve the way they look at the individual.
Consider this data from ManPower Group:
- 52% of U.S. companies report difficulty filling jobs.
- 47% of employers blame the prospects’ lack of “hard” job skills or technical skills.
- 35% of companies cite candidates’ lack of experience.
- 25% of companies blame the lack of business knowledge or formal qualifications.
- 28% of companies are increasing staff training and development.
There are not enough training curriculums to accommodate the number of companies who are having difficulties filling jobs. The whole point of going back to basics is to look closely at the current practice. Is it people focused? Is there more of a transactional approach to recruiting and onboarding? We help companies look at that process and break it down – from the length of time for hiring to issues with onboarding and training. Improving those practices will help retain new talent in this competitive market.
Next, I will outline five steps to recruiting quality employees as well as mistakes to avoid and how to maintain employees. Be sure to check back for part two of this blog.