Going Beyond the Conversation in Addressing the Skills Gap

Unless you’ve gone willfully about without reading any news, watching television, surfing the internet, or speaking with colleagues, you’ve undoubtedly heard about the growing skills gap (or labor shortage or whatever other term you want to use to describe it). While there are a host of reasons for it, the ultimate point is that more skilled laborers are leaving the workforce than are entering. It’s a problem I’m hearing from many about while at the same time, sharing my own perspective. We had a panel discussion about the issue at the 2017 MPO Summit in San Diego (and just may again in 2019), have published articles and columns that address the issue (most recently, associate editor Sam Brusco’s article—Smooth Operator—in the last issue (Jan/Feb 2019; http://bit.ly/mpo190390), and even discussed it with editorial advisory board members at a recent annual meeting. In fact, it dominated the discussion at that gathering. And when I found out at a family gathering that a cousin was a welder/machinist/molder (i.e., jack-of-all-trades at a small, family-owned shop), the topic emerged yet again. 

The medical device manufacturing space is facing this growing skills gap and its impact is already being felt. Worse yet, it’s not alone, which makes it an even more challenging prospect. We can’t simply attract workers from other industries to fill our needs. What’s more, from all projections, it’s not going to get any better anytime soon.

According to a report by Korn Ferry, a global organizational consulting firm, titled “Future of Work: The Global Talent Crunch” (http://bit.ly/mpo190391), by 2030, the manufacturing sector “faces a global labor shortage of 7.9 million workers, the equivalent of 39 times the number of Ford employees worldwide.” The report also predicts that by 2030, the U.S. manufacturing sector will reach a shortfall of 383,000 workers, which would be equivalent to 10 percent of the highly skilled workforce. Per the report, virtually every major country that enjoys a robust manufacturing economy will face the shortage, with one exception (India).

So honestly, it’s time to get selfish in terms of addressing the problem, because it’s become obvious that simply discussing it is not doing the trick. Companies need to jump in with both feet, get involved, and help to address the issue. But knowing where and how to start can be almost as intimidating to face as the skills gap itself. So I’ve offered a couple suggestions that could help to get the ball rolling in the right direction for your company and its workforce.

Reach out to local school districts. In recent decades, there’s been a substantial emphasis on the importance of a college education. In the wake of this effort, the significant value offered by trade and vocational schools was diminished. While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with earning a college education, it’s simply not the best route for every person across the board. As such, it’s important to get students thinking about a career that doesn’t require a college degree and instead could explore trade school options. But that interest and encouragement needs to start at an early age, even middle school. See if local educators would be interested in a facility tour, manufacturing day, or some other community-style event that would allow youth to come into your facility to see what you produce, interact with the machines, and speak with workers. The visit could just be the spark a young mind needs to become intrigued with the medical device manufacturing space and mark the start of the career path for a future employee.

Start an apprenticeship/mentorship program. Are educational institutions truly preparing graduates for the workforce? Specifically, do you find these graduates to be trained in areas that don’t match with the skills you require? One option is to reach out to these institutions (e.g., high school, community college, trade school, etc.) and work with them to enhance the curriculum, but there is another option. “If you want something done, do it yourself”—the expression is popular for a reason. Companies need to become proactive in training prospective employees, recent graduates, and students.

Anthony Sanzari, vice president of Surgical Products at Weiss-Aug, addressed this topic in a Q&A with Brusco that was generated from the aforementioned article from the Jan./Feb. issue of MPO. “We invest in apprenticeship and mentorship programs, whereby our apprentices gain experience in all aspects of product manufacture, including our design, tooling, precision-CNC, EDM, and laser technology programs. Additionally, through heavy capital investment and continued training, we have created a culture of innovation that attracts and retains talent.”

By no means is this an easy problem to tackle, but companies need to start if they aren’t doing so already. For their own survival, they need to get involved in the solution. So next time the skills gap is being discussed, I hope you can speak to the actions you and your company are taking rather than just being a part of the conversation. 

Sean Fenske, Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]