It’s no secret that American manufacturing has been experiencing a resurgence, thanks in large part to reshoring and nearshoring initiatives spurred by the pandemic plus legislation efforts from the last two administrations.

But here’s the catch. The latest boom has resulted in a huge shortage of qualified workers with a nearly half-million current openings in the sector, according to recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This has put pressure on executives to quickly fill these roles in an efficient manner without sacrificing qualifications and standards. Carolyn Lee, President and Executive of the Manufacturing Institute, told NPR that roughly half of all open roles require at least a bachelor’s degree. However, the ones that don’t also struggle to be filled.

How manufacturers are fighting back

Executive leaders play a crucial role in filling all positions regardless of where they stand on the org chart, and have successfully reduced the number of openings by half since its peak in 2022. Examples like increasing compensation levels and developing a strong company culture and brand have gone a long way in attracting qualified candidates. Word spreads quickly in communities and beyond when workers are treated well in a safe environment, ultimately becoming the company’s biggest advocates.

Locally, many manufacturers utilize apprenticeships and public-private partnerships to organically develop the community workforce. FAME (Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education), was founded by Toyota in 2010 when it struggled to find machine technicians near its factory plant in Kentucky. The pioneer of Lean manufacturing developed a partnership with local companies and a community college while adding an apprenticeship program to essentially create the workforce it needed.

Toyota eventually handed FAME over to the Manufacturing Institute, but many companies continue to implement similar programs of their own. Multi-billion dollar industrial process measurement and automation supplier Endress + Hauser has run its USA-based ICATT Apprenticeship since 2018, and has been able to effectively fill many of its employment gaps. These types of initiatives require not only the blessing and financial support of senior management, but active engagement to ensure they achieve their goals.

A popular strategy that doesn’t require external assistance is continuing to refine and improve the upskilling of existing employees. Sufficiently investing in the continuous improvement of each functional area will keep valuable institutional knowledge inside the plants and reduce urgent hiring needs. Along the way, clearly communicating a productive employee’s career path helps the individual envision not just the job they have, but their future. The same is true when recruiting new employees to leave their current situations and join them.

What manufacturing leaders should be doing right now

1. Assess current and future workforce needs. It might sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many manufacturers come to us about filling a particular role but haven’t done a full assessment of their workforce.
   
   
2. Invest in company branding to attract new talent. Whether hiring a front-line worker or a CEO, how people feel about a company’s reputation is one of the largest factors when entertaining a job offer. Even if it was fairly earned from a previous owner or generation, it’s a company’s responsibility to change the current public perception. This is more than a snazzy paid advertising campaign; it’s truly changing the culture from within then telling that story to the local community if that’s where employees will be pulled from, or to the greater market.
   
   
3. Foster a culture that values learning and innovation. Most employees strive to better themselves and expect the same from their company. This is why having a continuous improvement mindset throughout the organization is paramount in becoming an innovative manufacturer that employees are proud of.
   
   
4. Partner with external recruiters to fill critical needs (when it makes sense). If manufacturers have the internal expertise and bandwidth to source and vet hundreds, if not thousands, of resumes and applications, then utilizing those resources can be the right path before bringing in a search firm.

But for management and senior-level roles, vetting individuals who have both the technical expertise and cultural compatibility can be quite difficult. The right recruiter has access to the industry’s best talent who aren’t actively looking for their next roles and cruising job boards. With the wrong hire costing the company one-third of the person’s first-year salary according to the Department of Labor, there’s little wiggle room for error.

The current surge in American manufacturing presents both an urgent challenge and a tremendous opportunity for industry leaders. Now’s the time to take decisive action – by investing in your people, strengthening your company culture and proactively building the workforce your organization will need for the future.

But time isn’t on your side as the A-players are being actively courted to address market uncertainty. If you’re seeking expert guidance or support in attracting top-tier talent, connect with Stiles Associates today.