Even with the recent fluctuations in Chinese and European economies, US Manufacturers are still seeing growth throughout most segments, and economists expect that trend to continue. More and more manufacturing executives are concerned about attracting, training, and retaining talent to drive innovation and growth agendas in their organizations.
A Gallup study projected that US manufacturers will add nearly 3.4 million jobs in the next decade to meet both future domestic and international demand. They took into account the 700,000 additional workers over this 10-year period to meet forecasted demand, and the 2.7 million jobs (22% of existing workforce) would be created due to the number of workers who will retire from the manufacturing workforce between 2015 and 2025. The manufacturing executives they surveyed said that around 60% of their current open positions are unfilled due to lack of skilled workers, engineers, and experienced managers, which further heightens the fear of long-term skills gaps.
Bruce Peacock
Vice President of Business Development
The Richmond Group USA