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According to new research from Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute, the US faces a need for nearly 3.5 million manufacturing jobs over the next decade and 2 million of those jobs are likely to go unfilled.
Two parallel studies – The Skills Gap in US Manufacturing: 2015 and Beyond and Overwhelming Support: US public opinions on the manufacturing industry draw together perspectives from US manufacturing executives and the American public that reveal US manufacturing companies face a significant skills gap over the next decade, largely fueled by baby boomer retirement and too few young people who see the industry as a career destination.
Mr Craig Giffi, vice chairman of Deloitte LLP and US automotive sector leader said that “The research shows that 84% of manufacturing executives agree there is a talent shortage in US manufacturing, and this gap will be exacerbated by more than 2.7 million professionals exiting the manufacturing workforce through retirement over the next 10 years. Our research estimates that the cumulative skills gap or the positions that likely won’t be filled because of a lack of skilled workers will grow to two million between 2015 and 2025.”
82% of manufacturing executives responding feel that workforce shortages or skills deficiencies in production roles have a significant effect on their ability to meet customer demand and 78% indicate that it affects their ability to implement new technologies and increase productivity. Manufacturing executives responding to the skills gap survey indicated that 6 of every 10 skilled production openings they have are unfilled today because of the talent shortage.
While 80% of executives report they are willing to pay higher salaries than the market rates in workforce areas reeling under the talent crisis, the industry appears to suffer from an inability to fill positions expeditiously. Manufacturing executives surveyed report that it takes more than 90 days to recruit highly skilled workers such as engineers and scientists and an average of 70 days to recruit skilled production workers. According to Benjamin Dollar, principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP and co-author of the studies, “Traditional past practices and methods used for recruiting and developing workers needed for the future of manufacturing are simply not going to be adequate.”
Ms Jennifer McNelly, president of The Manufacturing Institute said that “The skills shortage pervades all stages of manufacturing, from engineering to skilled production. This challenge will only grow as the demographics of our workforce evolve with retirements, new technological advances requiring a higher level of training and certification, and our K-12 education system, which continues to lack the necessary focus on STEM education.”
Mr Added Gardner Carrick, vice president of The Manufacturing Institute said that “With nearly half of executive survey respondents indicating they plan to re-shore some portion of their operations back to the US by 2020, the urgency to expand the domestic talent pool and address the skills gap is increasing day by day.”
Source – Strategic Research Institute, Steel Guru
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