Skills Gap continued..

Week 5: role searcher

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I found Sharon's and Lisa's posts intriguing. As a hiring manager, I could relate to what both wrote about the skills gap. The skills gap exist in manufacturing but also in the human services field. I manage the public services programs in Catawba County. The State Office of Personnel requires me to hire someone with one year of eligibility experience, specific to Medicaid or Food and Nutritional Services. I can hire someone as a one year trainee if I cannot find someone who possess the required experience. There is not a training program for determining Medicaid or Food and Nutritional Services. The only way that someone gains experience is through employment. The lack of educational training has created a skills gap in my area that has existed for over 25 years. The gap is growing because of the advancements in technology.

The Deloitte Consulting and the Manufacturing Institute have completed several studies concerning the imminent danger to the United States economy and manufacturing companies because of the lack of skilled workers. They recently completed a survey of 450 manufacturing executives. This survey was an elaboration of an earlier Deloitte Consulting and Manufacturing Institute which reflected 600,000 unfilled manufacturing jobs in 2011. [1] The survey found that 2 million vacant manufacturing jobs will exist by 2020. [2] The two main drivers for this finding was the accelerated retirement of current manufacturing workers and the anticipated growth of manufacturing in the United States projected over the next several years.

Credit: Deloitte.com

The report concluded that 2.7 million workers will be needed to replace retired workers. 60% of unfilled positions will be because of the shortage of skilled applicants. It is projected that two million of the 3.4 million manufacturing jobs that are vacant by 2025 will remain unfilled because of the skills gap between the requirements of the job and the skills the applicants possess. [2] Current manufacturing workers are working overtime to fill gap. Manufacturing employees work 17% more hours on average than workers in other positions. [2]

Many individuals have a negative image about manufacturing. Individuals associate manufacturing as being jobs that are outdated, mundane, dirty, and consist of manual labor. These misconceptions appear to be a reason why young people aren't eager to enter the world of manufacturing. The misconceptions couldn't be further from the truth. Manufacturing jobs are interesting, very challenging, and entrenched in technology. Rapid advancement of technology is raising the bar to be able to work in modern manufacturing. Candidates are not being prepared to enter the manufacturing workforce because public schools are not focusing on STEM subjects: science, technology, engineering, and math . Manufacturers are also contributing to the problem. From 2003 to 2013, manufacturers reduced internal training programs by 40%. [2]

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1. Giffi, C. (2016). The skills gap in U.S. manufacturing | Deloitte US | Manufacturing Industrial Products and Services. Deloitte United States. Retrieved 23 February 2016, from http://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/manufacturing/articles/boiling-point-the-skills-gap-in-us-manufacturing.html#

2. The Huffington Post,. (2016). Retrieved 25 February 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jerry-jasinowski/skills-gap_b_6991928.html