Structured Training: Part of the Skills Gap Solution
Now more than ever, the American workforce must think strategically about building required skills. Midsized manufacturers have a lot to lose by not looking at training as part of “the way we do business around here.”
The Skills Gap Has Been Brewing
Advocates and interested groups have been warning about the manufacturing skills gap and looming talent shortage for decades.
In 2001, the Chicago Federation of Labor and the Center for Labor and Community Research analyzed the training and education needs of the Cook County, Illinois, manufacturing economy. They identified the education and skills gap with recommendations to avoid it.
In 2003, the National Association of Manufacturers’ (NAM’s) Campaign for Growth and Manufacturing Renewal reminded us that this country was facing historic challenges; specifically, losing its manufacturing base and competitive edge.
In 2005, NAM/Manufacturing Institute with Deloitte published The Skills Gap Report. Manufacturers said that having a high-performance workforce was the most important driver of future business success.
In 2007, on the basis of an extensive study of public education and the manufacturing sector, Dan Swinney, founder of Manufacturing Renaissance, launched Austin Polytech with 20 manufacturing company partners, creating a new solution to the skills gap problem.
In 2014, the Harvard Business Review published a piece titled “Employers Aren’t Just Whining—the Skills Gap Is Real” and pointed out, "Because many new skills are learned on the job, not all workers within an occupation acquire them."
In 2020, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation study reiterated the lack-of-skills problem in the American workplace as a whole.
"American businesses face a difficult dilemma: The demand for skilled workers is greater than ever, but availability is in short supply. Our study finds that 74% of hiring managers agree that there is a skills gap in the current labor market, with 48% saying that candidates lack the skills needed to fill open jobs."
Two Sides
The dilemma voiced by this last study gets at the dual nature of the skills gap issue.
Obviously, educational preparation is key here, but in the immediate term, this area is beyond the control of most organizations. Fortunately, the Manufacturing Renaissance Council has been innovating in this area for decades.
The other side is the company side. Real pressures can cause businesses to prioritize working in the business versus working on the business, as they say. Yet, the often ignored and inadequate on-the-job training has great power to disrupt operations. And, as you see from the warnings above, this issue is a long-rooted problem that will not fix itself—and requires linkage to management systems to get right.
Is Your Training Effective?
Today, if you are a midsized manufacturer, you are likely contending with a workforce skills gap coupled with an aging workforce. The strength of your business, and its ability to sustain itself into an uncertain future, will be impacted by your business’ ability to train effectively.
“Effectively” is the key word here. Training is effective when it is part of a broader business and talent/workforce strategy. Training is not seen as a one-off solution, or somebody else's project, but as an integrated and necessary part of managing business operations.
Without effective training, work techniques drift and degrade to the point where core standard work is hardly recognizable—and makes supervising even more challenging.
The antidote is a reliable and dynamic training delivery system to help keep work aligned with the hundreds of changes and moving parts in a plant. We call this system structured on-the-job training, or SOJT. It is also known as JI or Job Instruction, by Training Within Industry (TWI), a proven method to transfer skills reliably.
A natural consequence of using a JI system is that it engenders a sense of accomplishment in the individual and in the group. Reliable and consistent training is a motivating influence versus the anxiety and frustration that so many people feel when they receive half-baked instruction. (How would you like to begin a new job that way?)
Where to Start?
A first step to helping your business retain new talent is learning how a managed system of structured training can help. Contact us to see how.