Manufacturing Workforce Development Key Focus for FABTECH 2019
The U.S. economy gained 164,000 jobs in July 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. With such strong numbers it would be logical to assume that the manufacturing industry also experienced an increase in jobs, but that would be incorrect. The manufacturing sector represented 11.6 percent of U.S. GDP in 2017, down from 12.3 percent in 2011 and 28.1 percent in 1953. Manufacturing jobs peaked in 1979 at 19.4 million. These numbers beg the question: why the decline?
The manufacturing industry requires skilled workers to fill technical jobs, such as ma-chine/equipment operators and automation supervisors–herein lies the rub. Despite an abundance of positions, significant compensation and the importance placed on skilled employees, manufacturing companies are finding it increasingly difficult to find a trained, qualified and skilled workforce to fill open positions. It’s reported that over the next decade, almost two million manufacturing jobs are predicted to go unfilled due to the skills gap crisis.