Manufacturing: The comeback kid: Turning Performance

As we approach the end of 2011, the coming year is shaping up to be very interesting. A presidential election, stubbornly high unemployment and a challenging economy are contributing to an increasing recognition of manufacturing careers and the need for more skilled employees. Even the media has jumped on the bandwagon.

For job shops and other part manufacturers, this should be a positive turn of events as educational institutions recognize more and more that manufacturing positions offer tremendous value to their communities. These schools are realizing the potential of manufacturers to provide great career choices whether the candidate is university material or not. The distorted image of a grimy, loud shop has been dispelled and more accurately discovered to be a hotbed of technology and innovation.

The community college in my area has recognized this skills demand and created an entire curriculum dedicated to manufacturing occupations. My own research has shown this same trend is occurring across the country, as many job vacancies go unfilled even during a period of high unemployment.

Numerous reasons exist for this resurgence, but the bottom line is educational institutions need students and manufacturers have become more vocal in publicizing their urgent need for skilled workers. As a result, schools have found a potential way to increase enrollment. In addition, with the dollar trading lower against other currencies, even foreign companies are looking to invest and expand in the U.S., in many cases acquiring U.S. companies and adding jobs.

Large companies certainly offer many great opportunities, but most manufacturers are smaller shops like mine and probably yours. Like those larger companies, we need more access to better trained employees who can program and operate the high-tech, CNC equipment necessary to compete. One of the ways to gain access to these potential employees is to develop a rapport with local schools to ensure they’re aware of the demand. Most schools welcome input about needed skill sets if you’re willing to give it. While your free time is likely limited, from my experience, giving them feedback is rarely disruptive. To the schools’ credit, they’ve identified manufacturing occupations as valid and are taking steps to address the shortfall of qualified workers.