07: Addressing The Labor Shortage In Manufacturing

a BROADcast for Manufacturers

Erin: I happened to come across this really interesting piece that examines a regional phenomenon where the manufacturing industry is just doing really well, however, the labor shortage has been a real challenge for those folks and across the country. The piece did a nice exploration of all the factors that are really limiting hiring in the manufacturing industry and I thought we'd just kind of talk about that today because that's on everybody's minds.

Lori: What really struck me in the article was that Southeast Pennsylvania has over 10,000 manufacturing positions that go unfilled every year!

Erin: That just slows things down across the board, because anytime somebody has to be absent, you're just not able to fill that gap which puts so much pressure on the folks that are there. One of the things they explored was this sort of impression impairment for the manufacturing industry. They're saying that people when they think about manufacturing, think that it's dirty, it's loud, so it's not a good job. The article unpacks that notion and I just thought they did a really neat job of sort of dispelling those myths, but also helping us understand why they exist in the first place.

Kris: I found it really interesting when the gentleman that they interviewed who has now been in manufacturing for 16 years said, "I thought manufacturing was dirty," and then he said, "Having been in a manufacturer for mining equipment for many years, I never got dirty!" So really, the stigma and the belief that people have about manufacturing is still something that has to be overcome and I think that's one of the many challenges that they're facing, but I thought that was so interesting that I really connected with his feedback there.

Erin: You know what's funny is that it's a stigma now, but in the past, getting dirty used to be a point of pride to show hard work in the manufacturing industry. Still, for many folks that are still in the manufacturing industry that still exists and it's hard to contribute to this sort of fixing the impression of manufacturing as not being dirty, because it's a point of pride, and that's a huge cultural transition.

Kris: I do think there is value that you gain and you feel from that accomplishment of doing the hard work that sometimes does make you dirty. I think it all has to be unpacked to try to find the right people with the right skills for the right jobs because there are all kinds of different jobs. In the article, it says that they've been stressing the importance of working closely with local high schools, trade schools, and colleges to get more young people involved with the industry and to buck the stigma of manufacturing work as undesirable. Here's my question to you guys: Is that the solution or is there something else?

Erin: So Kris and I are planning an event at the Ford Festival which celebrates innovation, entrepreneurship and technology. We'll be working with some local manufacturers to do a panel on entrepreneurship and manufacturing which will get at a solution where we train young people and then they'll go work for somebody, but they're a lot of young people who are excited about being entrepreneurs, and we have not made the connection that you can make things and be an entrepreneur.

Lori: I'd say get in at a younger age because there's a lot of stress when someone's in high school and they have to make these major decisions with no information. I wish that the educational system did a better job of leaning into someone's personal interests to guide them down a path that creates long-term success for their career.

And so much more!

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Connect with Erin on LinkedIn and visit http://www.earthlinginteractive.com for web-based solutions to your complex business problems!

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Connect with Kris on LinkedIn and visit www.genalpha.com for OEM and aftermarket digital solutions!