Skilled Manufacturing Workers Needed

Right now, manufacturing companies can’t find the people they need among recent graduates and existing workers.

A recent survey of manufacturing companies conducted by Deloitte on behalf of the Manufacturing Institute and reported in a Washington Post article, found that as many as 600,000 U.S. jobs are unfilled. Yet there are 12.8 million unemployed workers in this country, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The shortage of highly skilled factory workers comes amid increased worries about U.S. failure to produce enough strong graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that 24% of Indiana manufacturers surveyed reported “serious deficiencies” in math skills among their current employees, and 36% said there was a shortage of skilled production workers.

When existing employees lack the necessary skills and companies can’t find recent graduates with strong STEM degrees, they end up hiring foreign workers.

New Initiatives

There is hope for a more productive future that improves human labor rather than eliminating it. Two companies, Globalfoundries Inc. and Bayer Corporation, have taken steps to reduce skill erosion in the workforce.

Globalfoundries Inc. – Global Manufacturing and Technology, Malta, New York

At Globalfoundries, an innovative training program enables workers to keep up with the rapid pace of technology and simultaneously inspires creativity within the company. Globalfoundries also partners with the
State University of New York (SUNY) to better prepare students for sophisticated manufacturing jobs. A mentoring program funded by $3 million from the National Science Foundation pairs graduate students and postdoctoral fellows with middle schoolers interested in STEM careers.

Bayer Corporation.- Health Care and High-Tech Materials, Baytown, Texas

Bayer prefers candidates with STEM degrees even for sales and marketing positions. To respond to the shortage of such candidates, Rebecca Lucore, chief of staff for the company’s U.S. chemicals business, says that Bayer is using more internships and scholarships in an effort to build engineering expertise. Lucore points out that there is also a need for candidates with two year degrees in areas such as process engineering. “There are lots of good jobs that don’t require a four-year degree, just two.” (Wall Street Journal article)