HR Tip: Attracting employees to manufacturing

According to a report released in May by Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute (MI), the manufacturing industry is struggling to fill more than one-half million jobs and the number is expected to grow. The survey found that many young workers lack interest in the industry or don't recognize upward mobility paths for their careers.

This lack of interest could stem from misconceptions about the types of jobs available and the perceived lack of flexibility in hours. To counter this MI has teamed with the National Association of Manufacturers and launched Creators Wanted, a virtual event series aimed at engaging prospective workers and showing them the opportunities in modern manufacturing.

Critically, women are heavily underrepresented in the industry, making up about 30 percent of manufacturing workers despite being about half the overall workforce. The lack of childcare is a dominant issue for recruiting and retention.

While the survey found most manufacturers have implemented diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training in talent management programs, they have not been effective. They were hastily adopted in mid-2020 after the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, and they didn't think through how the programs would be applied to the entire organization.

To address these issues, the report urges manufacturers to proactively engage with potential talent pools and revamp work-life balance, skills training, and equitable career pathways to retain employees they cannot afford to lose. Efforts to consider include:

• Engage more with local communities to recruit talent against competing jobs.
• Seek to hire former military personnel for mid- to highly-skilled positions.
• Broaden talent pipeline to draw more diverse job candidates.
• Candidly assess company culture to identify areas of improvement with DEI programs.
• Tie leadership performance to DEI metrics.
• Launch recruitment efforts at the high school level to build awareness of career-building and attractive pay in manufacturing.
• Consider reorienting shift-based jobs toward more flexible arrangements.
• Leverage advanced technologies, including virtual reality training, to increase digital skills.