Posted on 07/14/2005 7:00:15 PM PDT by bayourod
Chicago - The United States faces a severe shortage of skilled workers if current employment and job training trends continue, the National Association of Manufacturers said Monday.
By 2020, the shortage could be more than 10 million workers, according to the Washington trade group, which has more than 14,000 companies as members.
Manufacturers already are struggling with unfilled job openings because they can't find qualified help, said John Engler, president of the group and former governor of Michigan.
"The emerging problem in manufacturing is not a shortage of jobs, but rather a shortage of qualified applicants," Engler said.
"A full 36 percent of our members have said they have employment positions unfilled right now because they cannot find qualified workers. This confirms what our members have been telling us: that the people applying for manufacturing jobs today simply do not have the math, science and technological aptitude they need to work in modern manufacturing."
Engler made his remarks at the largest industrial trade show in North America. That show continues today at McCormick Place, with more than 1,000 companies and 38,000 people in attendance at the convention center.
Shop floor literacy The manufacturing recovery that gained momentum in 2004 will continue to strengthen this year, according to a new association survey.
Seventy-five percent of the 976 executives surveyed said their exports would remain at current levels or increase this year. That's encouraging, given that almost half the executives said that unfair trade practices had adversely affected their businesses, Engler said.
Forty percent of the executives said they planned to add workers, up from 31% a year ago. Only 12% said they planned to reduce their payrolls.
"But there are very few companies looking for low-skilled workers," Engler said. "That's not where the demand is."
Instead, companies aren't able to find enough qualified help to work in an increasingly technical and more demanding manufacturing environment, according to Engler.
"I am not saying you have to know complex algebra to get a job on the plant floor, but you do need fundamental math, science and communication skills," he said. "You can't be illiterate and communicate with other members on a manufacturing team."
Economists in Wisconsin also expect a hiring crunch for state employers. In a paper prepared for the Economic Outlook Conference last week at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, economist Donald A. Nichols wrote, "Because of the strengthening demand for skilled workers I foresee in 2005, labor shortages may become more widespread in Wisconsin as the year wears on."
The state's manufacturing sector is expected to be strong this year, boosted by a recovering economy nationally and a soft dollar encouraging exports, Nichols said.
Hard to fill openings Companies recognize the problem but are struggling to solve it, Engler said.
"It's ominous what the future could hold if we aren't successful in making some changes," he said.
In the Milwaukee area, companies face a shortage of skilled workers such as welders.
It's an ongoing problem, said Jim Sokoly, sales director at Mayville Engineering Co. The company is one of about a dozen Wisconsin companies at the Chicago trade show.
"Welders have been the primary issue for us," Sokoly said. "The jobs pay well enough, and welders could have all of the overtime they wanted last year. But the issue is finding people who want to be welders."
Mike Jankowski, sales manager at Manitowoc Tool & Machining LLC, said it's especially difficult to find skilled welders for second and third shifts.
The company has completed a 45,000-square-foot, $7 million expansion and has other growth plans in mind.
"But it's hard to find skilled people," Jankowski said.
Not everyone is hanging out the "help wanted" sign, as increased automation and lean manufacturing strategies have eliminated many jobs.
In 2002, for example, Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry Co. in Manitowoc had $52 million in sales and 600 employees. Last year, it had $50 million in sales, but only about 350 employees.
"We had to work with our union to change job classifications, but we are definitely working smarter," company sales manager David Hilburger said.The projection of a shortage of more than 10 million skilled workers by 2020 could be high, given that the Bureau of Labor Statistics said there are only 14.4 million manufacturing jobs in the U.S. today.
But there is a shortage, and it's getting worse as older workers retire and fewer young people are willing to take their place on the factory floor.
Role of education Parents and teachers are partly to blame for the shortage of skilled workers, said Phyllis Eisen, vice president of the Manufacturing Institute, the research and education arm of the National Association of Manufacturers. They have promoted four-year college degrees as the key to success, even if those degrees are not well connected with current employment trends, Eisen said.
The association has launched a $2.5 million pilot program in Kansas City, Mo., in which companies are promoting technical jobs. Similar programs are coming this year in Houston, Omaha, Neb., and Texas.
Milwaukee could organize a similar effort, Eisen said.
"But it needs to be promoted as economic development rather than education," she said. "Otherwise, no one will pay attention to it."
Eisen, who taught high school social studies for more than a decade, said manufacturers should try to get their message out to young people any way they can, and not rely on the schools to do it for them.
"We have got to tell kids that if they take advanced math classes, they can do something cool, like work with robots," she said.
Hopefully when the reconstituted Supreme Courts revisits Roe v Wade they will look at the economic comsequences of their decision.
And you gotta love our schools.
Local community colleges offer certificates in welding and the pay is decent around here for certified weldors.
Can't do it though unless you are literate to begin with.
Well, if we'd hurry up and finish exporting our manufacturing sector overseas we won't need to worry about this..
You mean hanging out on the corner swilling 40s and smokin' 8-balls doesn't prepare you for technical school to become a welder?
Well, imagine that!
Tell them THAT? HA.
The problem with American work (executive issues aside) is the huge divide between having a bachelor's and a PhD. The 4-year degree used to be worth something, but now it's a minimum requirement that only allows you to work LIKE a robot, not "with" them. Even a masters leaves you screwed- you're overqualified for most things, but underqualified for the best jobs.
The best thing one can do is either get a PhD or simply forget the whole scam called "education" and start your own business straight out of high school, of course being prepared for many failures along the way.
Call me a cynic, but I smell a ruse to import more cheap workers.
But they told us that we didn't have manufacturing jobs in America anymore. Didn't they tell us that?
Bravo Sierra. The problem is these jobs will eventually sent over seas. This is a ruse for companies to send jobs out of the country. Give them an inch and they will take a mile.
I myself am highly educated and cannot find ANY employment in manufacturing (over qualified) or IT (no jobs here).
The problem with education today ... if you don't move on to college out of HS you're considered a failure. So what do we get a bunch of early twenty types working in restaurants telling anyone who will listen that they have a degree in some liberal arts field that's essentially useless. Meanwhile the shunned community colleges and trade schools are graduating young people who can actually put their new skills to work and earn a respectable salary ... oftentimes much more than some liberal arts type will ever earn.
well, the thread was posted by bayourod, the illegal alien's friend (TM)
GASP!!! Wages might have to rise on their own!!!
On a totally different note...does anyone know if Posner has ever written an opinion analyzing the economics of Roe v. Wade?
No. The problem is that the wrong people are having abortions.
Smart people reproduce responsibly and the morons reproduce like rabbits.
Or to give illegal immigrants "guest worker" visas so they can be hired for these jobs.
Even the engineers and computer folk I know are doing only "average" at best, while landscapers are making practically double.
Have we forgotten the collective-bargained unionized worker? Many bureaucrats quit their posts because they didn't want dues AND taxes taken out of their checks. The trade schools here see more grads buying equipment vans and hanging a 'shingle' on it so they aren't part of a union. Could these same jobs that aren't being filled union jobs? Unions losing revenue? Dems losing contributions? They did mention Wisconsin did they not?
No kidding. Sixty percent of the workers in my plant are on the shady side of fifty. Hiring young people is difficult, especially as we are a union plant, young people don't like unions. At least those with any drive don't like unions and the others don't bother to show up on time. So we hire older guys. They might not be fast but they will be there. But that pool is not that deep and is drying up very quickly. And my industry is no different then the others around me.
Do you have a training program? I've found that most companies that complain about a lack of skilled workers do not have a training program. They just expect fully trained workers to show up on their doorstep.
Those companies ought to move to Oregon ... all kinds of trained CNC machinists jobs offering(s) at $8.00 PER HOUR and getting plenty of takers!
Don't send your kid to college.
Send them to a tech or trade school instead.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.