Survey: Lack of Skilled Workers Hurts Economy Most

DEARBORN, MI-More manufacturing executives today believe the lack of skilled labor and management skills in the work force-not current oil prices or the weak U.S. dollar-most hurt the growth of America’s economy, according to a poll conducted by sponsors of the Fabtech International & AWS Welding Show including Metalform.

Twenty-seven percent of the executives polled cited the lack of employee skills as the leading obstacle to growth. Ranked second was oil prices, cited by 20%; followed by tax policies, 11%; weak U.S. dollar, 10%; the financial commitment in Iraq, 9%; and the credit crisis, 7%.

The executives also were asked to name the two best ways to attract greater numbers of young people to manufacturing careers. In this case, the most respondents, 58%, said competitive wages. More parental and teacher encouragement ranked second at 27%, followed by offering more relevant science and math programs in high school and college, 23%, and greater use of computer and high-tech skills, 22%.

On Demand Join this webinar to learn how companies of all sizes are adopting easy-to-use cobots to overcome the labor shortage, handle multi-shift operations, scale production on-the-fly, and solve many other challenges.

The Quality Show South is the place to learn from experts at the top of their field and meet with leading suppliers of testing, measurement, inspection, software, and quality equipment.

Join us in Nashville, TN, and network with quality manufacturing professionals from across the southern U.S.—including automotive, appliances, electronics, aerospace, medical devices, and more—and improve your processes for manufacturing within strict tolerances.