Manufacturing a solution to the industry skills gap

The challenge of finding jobs for the unemployed in manufacturing, as in many industries, is complicated by an apparent mismatch between job openings and qualified workers.
In the first quarter of 2012, there were 13 job listings on the EmployRI website for manufacturing engineers and only one Rhode Islander collecting unemployment who identified with that occupation, according to a report from the R.I. Department of Labor and Training, which operates the site. That 13-to-1 opening-to-worker ratio was the third highest for any profession listed on the site, behind doctor, 44 to 1, occupational therapist, 191 to 1, and physical therapist, 270 to 1.
Further down the list, there were twice as many listings for “milling and planing machine setters, operators & tenders,” 12, as there were unemployed job searchers in those areas.
More balanced were the nine listings for “lathe and turning-machine tool setters, operators & tenders, metal & plastic” versus seven out-of-work practitioners.
But while some manufacturing positions with specific skills show hardly any applicants, on a broader level, 4,002 people who filed for unemployment were in the “production category” that includes manufacturing (as well as baker and dry cleaner) versus 375 openings.
And there were 328 assemblers and fabricators looking for work with only 33 postings.
Explanations for the mismatch range from rising technical demands on the shop floor, to a reluctance of employers to invest in training, to a “skills gap,” between what applicants can do and what companies need.
There are also different plans for how to solve these issues and connect the right workers with the right skills and the right employer.
The Rhode Island Manufacturers Association is targeting the workforce. Executive Director Bill McCourt says there are actually two distinct labor-force challenges facing manufacturers: entry-level candidates lacking the fundamental skills employers need and the impending retirement of highly experienced baby boomers. “We have a boatload of people with a ton of skills who are about to retire,” McCourt said. “And we have a concern that a lot of those skills will be lost. Some of these people are the best tinkerers in the world and that only comes from years of training.”
The fact that more high school graduates are going to college than ever before has also narrowed the pool of workers who in prior generations would have looked to a manufacturing job instead of four more years of academics.
To deal with this, McCourt said public-private partnerships are going to be needed and creative ways to make it easier for employers to train employees and workers to gain additional skills while on the job.
Getting to the bottom of the skills gap and finding out what knowledge prospective workers should enter the market with, versus what employers should expect to teach them, is the driving force behind the manufacturing “workforce intermediary” program launched by the Governor’s Workforce Training Board in early August.
The Board awarded the Rhode Island Manufacturers Extension Service $100,000 to act as a liaison between companies, the state’s educational institutions and government officials to figure out what the skills gap is and how to better coordinate training efforts.
As the economic climate for manufacturers has become more difficult in recent decades and the number of things companies are mandated to train workers in has increased, it has squeezed the time and resources available for some on-the-job training.
Across the border in Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce (formerly the Massachusetts Chamber of Business and Industry) has just launched a foundation that will raise private money to help small manufacturers train employees. “Massachusetts has a state workforce-training program, but it is complicated to apply for and businesses struggle to jump through all the red tape,” said Massachusetts Chamber President Debra Boronski. “We are especially targeting small manufacturers and machine shops where their expertise is retiring and the younger workforce is getting ready to step up and take their place.”
The grants will help allow small manufacturers to offer training to young workers and internships to good prospects.
“Once young people get in and see the opportunity, they like being in the facility,” Boronski said. “Manufacturing isn’t as scary as people used to think it was. We are trying to educate the up-and-coming workforce and provide some relief to those manufacturers who train them.”
The Massachusetts Chamber is selling sponsorships of public art benches and hopes to raise $75,000 over the next five years for the program.
Back in Rhode Island, Vibco Vibrators President Karl Wadensten, who has been working on the unemployment issue with state officials, said despite advances in technology, connecting the unemployed to the right employers remains a stumbling block.
For example, Wadensten said the EmployRI website is missing large numbers of people on unemployment and leaving out employers who are hiring. He recommended making registration on the website a condition of each application for unemployment insurance.
“[Manufacturers] can train anybody to do anything, but they want someone who has curiosity, asks questions and is analytical; someone who is an achiever,” Wadensten said about manufacturers looking for workers. “That is the skills gap – the values.” •

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