The skills gap is an elusive paradox that moves experts straight to starkly opposing corners. They either accept it exists or suggest it to be a myth. But in the end, the numbers speak for themselves.
•             Out of 3.5 million new jobs, 2 million will go unfilled by 2025.
•             More than 2.6 million baby boomers are expected to retire in the next 10 years.
•             It takes 93 days to fill a role, a figure anticipated to grow.
•             The skills gap costs US companies $160 billion every year.
 
THE JOBS ARE THERE, BUT WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE TO FILL AND HOLD THESE POSITIONS?
 
In place of wasting time slinging the guilt for the skills gap from the public to the private sector and back again, it’s alot more worthy in order to get proactive and make moves about it. In the end, change does not come from inertia.
 
Is the future of work in manufacturing at risk? In spite of the alarming statistics, all hope just isn't lost. With the proper training, resolving the widening skills gap is achievable, efficient, and most of all, the way of the future.
 
While there are a few who knock the skills gap phenomena for being nothing else than a zombie idea that refuses to be extinguished by evidence, the actual issue is that hiring the perfect employee is not possible. Instead, companies must be striving to develop the perfect candidate through training. Let’s take a glance at the five major ways training can eliminate the skills gap.
 
NO. 1 - BY DISMANTLING MISCONCEPTIONS
 
Young people aren’t the ones behind the misconception that manufacturing is a dirty and low-paying job. Their parents are liable for propagating the tall tale. According to a study performed by SME, 25 percent of parents perceive manufacturing as a low-paying career, while more than 20 percent see it as an “outdated and/or dirty work environment.”
 
While this representation may have held some truth in the past, it’s inaccurate in today’s 21st century world. In-between the Internet of Things (IoT) and the unceasing developments in robotics, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and 3D printing—the manufacturing industry is at the attention of innovation and the opportunities are promising.
 
Standing at $21.93, the 2019 average per hour salary of an employee in manufacturing is nowhere near being low-paying by any means! Let’s also keep in mind the many benefits commonly enjoyed by manufacturing workers, such as for example insurance, paid leave, and a pension plan.
 
The increase of training programs geared towards educating the younger generation and parents alike on the benefits of a career in manufacturing is, therefore, the way forward.
 
NO. 2 - BY BEING RECURRENT, ENGAGING, & MOBILE
 
Modern-day manufacturing employers should be working more intelligently, not tougher. There is no sense spending hundreds of hours and resources creating paperwork instructions that are ignored by operators on the shop floor.
 
It’s now both crucial and inevitable to convert the knowledge of skilled operators into digital format. But just capturing this tribal knowledge isn’t enough. It is just as vital to capitalize on the fact that the days of sitting quietly in a classroom tuning in to a professor talk away for several hours on end are coming to an end.
 
Software taps right into the inherent fact that everybody learns with their eyes by offering the opportunity to create visual work instructions that are convenient to use and understand.
 
NO. 3 - BY FOCUSING ON APPRENTICESHIPS
 
Today’s learners are tomorrow’s manufacturers. Together with dismantling stereotypes, it is also vital to concentrate on rendering students with the right information from the start. In this manner, future thought leaders can make the most knowledgeable career decisions.
 
Much like manufacturing jobs are no more dirty and unpaying, the same goes for the accepted learning style.
 
Providing apprenticeships is a smart way to capture talent that might otherwise be lost. It is able to be especially beneficial if geared towards students most likely to drop out. Rather than failing these students, re-orienting the strategy can instead have for effect to fill empty positions and further reduce the country’s unemployment rate.
 
NO. 4 - BY EXPANDING SOFT SKILLS
 
The manufacturing industry is likely related to hard skills. As vital as these are to get the job done, the focus is now progressively being shifted onto soft skills.
 
What are soft skills exactly? Think of interpersonal skills that make a contribution towards a progressively unified workplace and you have yourself soft skills. Contrary to hard or technical skills, which can be quantified and measured, soft skills focus on the other hand on communication, adaptability, teamwork, and punctuality. With more employers installing the focus on these, the question then arises: can soft skills be taught?
 
In a nutshell, they can’t. But, they can absolutely be learned and refined. While you look for the necessary soft skills in the interview process, it can be just as beneficial to offer guidance instead. Since soft skills are not teachable, you'll want to preferably guide your employees to want to learn these skills through work environment team building exercises, communication skills activities, etc.
 
NO. 5 - BY FOCUSING ON RESKILLING
 
Another popular misconception is that you can't really teach a dog new tricks. This is false. The issue is that with the advancement of new technologies and the obsoleteness of traditional ways of performing tasks, the amount of qualified workers to fill new positions simply isn’t high enough to meet the demand.
 
Manufacturing companies are better served spending worthwhile resources helping and working with their existing workforce instead. Teaching existing employees new skills can also be desirable because it elevates morale and productivity by inspiring people to want to learn more.
 
Most importantly, retraining does not require being lengthy or expensive. With the use of work instructions, retraining is so simple as showing employees how to use the software one time. Those same instructions are then reusable with new hires as well, and thus decreasing training time by up to 99 percent.
 
In the end, a better solution to the skills gap is already inside your company.
 
This article is originally posted on TRONSERVE.COM