Recruitment Decisions: Filling the Skills Gap in Manufacturing

By CIOReview | Friday, March 29, 2019

The manufacturing industry currently has a skill gap where it is difficult to find employees who have the skills that the companies need. The gap has long increased, but in the years since the 2008 recession, it has reached new heights. The result was a lack of qualified and skilled applicants for manufacturers that are confronted by difficulty completing open positions.

A significant portion of the manufacturing staff is ready to retire. But workers in the industry do not have the expertise to fulfill their roles. More than 75 percent of manufacturers reported a moderate to severe shortage of skilled resources, according to a detailed Accenture report. Consequently, they face a decrease of up to 11 percent in their annual earnings. This skill gap will have an unprecedented impact on productivity and innovation if steps are taken to conserve skills and to prepare an incoming workforce. Industry leaders are already taking many of these steps, but more can be done.

It is more necessary to relocate employees to different jobs in order to face the problem of skilled labor. Access to more critical jobs will increase the efficiency and cooperation of employees. With more precise data, better work processes can be developed outside the system for less unique manual processes which may introduce errors.

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By using SaaS-based cloud solutions, existing employees can create new opportunities to prevent churn, particularly with young employees. They grew up as digital indigenous people. The applications they use are mainly running in the cloud, and they first think about mobility. The new generation of employees in manufacturing will not be connected or accept green screens and archaic user experiences.

The skills gap in the future years will probably continue to have an impact on recruitment decisions and producing jobs in skilled production will be hit hardest by many baby boomers. One of the most straightforward ways to overcome the difficulties in cases of the skills shortage is by recruiting consultants and freelancers who are capable of cost-effectively filling gaps in the business.