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.
I agree about getting experience first. However, there are some businesses such as Subway franchise that a high school grad can manage with a parent watching over his shoulder.
As far as starting their own business, the failure rate is so high that you can't get an SBA loan right now. Most businesses fail because they are under capitalized, but to sink too much money into a start up is more risky than a trip to Vegas.
A good start up business is a hand car wash in an area where the cars are too expensive to be run through an automated car wash. If the business catches on the profits are astronomical. If if doesn't you've just got a few buckets and towels to pay for. Buy the property and include paving, covered area, a small office/waiting area and signage in the mortgage.
Y'old meany. LOL!
Here's wishing you good luck in your job search. Kudos to you for getting more education. You're on the right path, friend.
Maybe FR needs to start a new kind of post, ala the Smoky Back Room, listing the kinds of jobs available in different parts of the USA.
It's obvious from this thread that there are jobs available in different parts of the country, while many of us are unemployed.
Let's start it!
I think perhaps you have confused cause and effect here. Companies are going elsewhere because our workforce is "uneducated, disloyal, and incompetent," not the other way around.
You may be right that high school kids do not want to go into debt to prepare for manufacturing jobs. But that does not explain why they do not learn math and science (or something worthwhile).
I think it all depends on the individual. Small businesses have really helped our economy since the Reagan era. But they are very demanding and there's a reason why so many are for sale. People like Michael Dell are rare and there's still a huge amount of luck involved. I think it's important to teach young people how our economic system works, that risk is involved, and that failure of the business isn't a failure of the person. Still, there's a good amount of people content to be government or corporate drones all their lives.
Manufacturing job which is stated about 50 times in the article isn't very specific, aren't most manufacturing jobs just repetitive labor where workers are basically treated as commodities? Obviously you need to be literate in any job, but then most high school graduates are literate. Exactly what level of aptitude in math and science do you need to work that sort of job? I put together computers as a hobby, it doesn't take any aptitude in anything except reading manuals and being careful with your hands.
Yeah. He put in 31 hours the first week, 16 hours the 2nd week, and 1 hour the 3rd week. He would have been gone the 2ndweek, but he kept taking off early! LOL.
IMO this is a runup to increase immigration. The tech industry used this same scare tactic to trick people into thinking that there weren't enough technical people to fill the jobs here. That was the excuse congress used to raise the cap on H1B visas.
But, back in India, where the majority of the h1b workers are from the story is different. They are leveraging h1b visas off of US "free trade" deals. That is, in order for the USTR to get India to sign on to their FTAs, they have to take more migrant workers from India. So they put a little story in the news about a crisis, and nobody looks any further into the dirty deal.
Doesn't he have a fork lift?
I hope you didn't get hit with the employment agency charge.
I am currently getting my degree. If my company ever closes I am screwed. You are right. We are only hiring PhDs. We used to hire B.S. about five years ago.
my = most
IMO this is a runup to increase immigration.
Bullseye
Machines that used to be manual are now computer controlled. GM may post their digital specs for a door handle on the Internet for companies world wide to bid on supplying it for them.
A five axis mill machine operator can download those specs directly from the Internet to his machine, insert the correct cutting tools, stick a 20 foot long bar of aluminum into the machine, push a button and the machine pops out 40 door handles in a couple hours.
But the operator has to take care of the machine, constantly lubricating the cutting tools, clearing away filings and monitoring every aspect.
He also needs to know about computers. Computers on machines have some of the same problems that computers on desks have.
Still harping on same ol' string, eh Swampy? Whether or not a person has a decent education has absolutely nothing to do with whether anyone was aborted over the last 30 years.
Stupid argument, boy. Keep using it.
They wouldn't last long at UPS, FEDEX, ect.
First thought that crossed my mind. "We'll bring in 10 million more slave laborers from Mexico that just want to do the jobs that Americans don't want."
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