FINDING THE NEXT GENERATION OF MANUFACTURING TALENT

According to Strategy&, "...manufacturers are getting caught in a talent squeeze. In mature economies, finding sufficient skilled talent has become something like searching for a needle in a haystack, and in emerging economies the pools of qualified talent are increasingly shallow and cost-prohibitive."

Before you shake your head in dismay, consider that The Wall Street Journal reported a significant increase in manufacturing orders between 2010 and 2013. There is hope! The economy is improving, consumer demand for manufactured goods is increasing and now it's your company's job to find and retain the next generation of manufacturing talent.

TRADITIONAL METHODS WON'T WORK WHEN RECRUITING AND RETAINING THE NEXT GENERATION
It might take a little bit of a shake up from top to bottom so be prepared to take an objective look at your company and its work environment. The younger workforce has different expectations than your Baby Boomer retirees, and this can make it more difficult for companies with a traditional mindset to attract up-and-coming talent.

The following tips can help you to re-think how you recruit and retain employees so your company can continue to grow and prosper.

Get them while they're young. One of the greatest issues plaguing the manufacturing industry when it comes to finding talented recruits is that there is a noticeable lack of students leaving high schools or colleges with a strong background in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). There are several reasons why students don't pursue futures in these areas, but perhaps the largest is their wariness regarding the economy and post-graduation job prospects. Keep in mind that these are the students whose parents lost their jobs during the 2008 "Great Recession," so they have been raised with a much different perspective than their previous generations' traditional ideal of "The Company Man."

To combat this, it's important to partner up with the schools in your region. Internship and mentorship programs can go a long way towards fostering an interest and trust in the manufacturing industry and, more specifically, your company. Work with the career services offices and you can begin to:

Offer summer and after school positions to local high schoolers.
Provide both on-the-floor and managerial internships for college students.
Offer to donate the funds necessary to keep a school's auto shop, auto CAD and/or wood shop functional so students with mechanical aptitudes have a means of developing their talents and interests.
Forming partnerships with educational institutions in your areas is one of the best way to keep the next generation interested in what you do.

Restructure how you recruit. Going to the occasional job fair is no longer enough. You need to meet the modern jobseeker where he/she is at and, these days, that's online. Is your company participating in online job business forums and job recruitment websites? Does your company have a strong online presence? Are you leveraging social media sites to help recruit employees? Consider that in 2012, survey respondents said they used the social media site LinkedIn to help with recruitment. If you aren't using modern tactics for your recruitment process, you aren't going to attract the widest candidate pool possible.

Again, recruiting is an area where you may want to think outside the box. In an article on manufacturing.net, Jeff Turner writes:

Find out what your ideal employee is interested in, and reach out to these talent stars where they’re likely to be. One of my personal strategies is visiting car shows. A true “gearhead” loves the thrill of mechanics both on and off the job, and car shows are a great place to engage with these individuals in a more casual element.

What a novel way to attract the type of people you want working for you. Who in your company has a classic car or toy? Perhaps it's time to reach out and pay for their day at the car show, attended by a couple of your HR stars.

Create solid in-house training, certification programs and incentives. Here is an interesting fact: The Emerging Workforce Study by Spherion finds that manufacturing employees are some of the most loyal and hardworking of any other industry, yet they continually survey as some of the most dissatisfied when it comes to professional training, education and promotion opportunities. This is a serious disconnect and is exemplary of why manufacturers are having a hard time recruiting and retaining qualified candidates. As long as tech companies like Google and Facebook are celebrated for their employee incentives, traditional workplaces will struggle if they aren't doing their part to recognize and reward quality employees.

Offering compensated, in-house training and career development is an excellent way to take your talented but less educated employees to the next level. Does your company require a certain level of education and/or certification in order for employees to promote?


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