Thread: 600,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs go unfilled

600,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs go unfilled

October 20th, 2011, 1:00 am
by Mary Ann Milbourn

Manufacturers are suffering from a serious skills shortage with as many as 600,000 jobs going unfilled nationwide because companies can’t find workers who can do the work, according to a report released this week by Deloitte.

The report said the hardest jobs to fill are those that have the biggest impact on performance including machinists, operators, craft workers, distributors and technicians.

Deloitte said 67% of the nearly 1,100 manufacturers surveyed reported a moderate to severe shortage of available workers while 56% expect the shortage to worsen in the next three to five years. (Double click on image to enlarge.)

Among the report’s findings:

Companies depend on outdated approaches for finding the right people, for developing their employees’ skills and improving their performance.
High unemployment is not making it easier to fill positions.
Manufacturing is changing so quickly it’s hard to keep up.
Manufacturers say their biggest challenge is finding people with problem-solving skills.
The shortage will be exacerbated in coming years as many of the current skilled production workers retire.
Deloitte said there is no simple solution to solving the skills gap. The report suggested one approach would be to allow older workers to gradually scale back hours as they phase into retirement while sharing their skills and knowledge with younger workers.

Companies also should work with local colleges and trade schools to develop programs that will help train new workers supplement the skills of their existing workforce.

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http://economy.ocregister.com/2011/10/2 ... led/84443/

Read the full Deloitte report HERE

http://www.deloitte.com/assets/Dcom-Uni ... 142011.pdf