I recently read yet another article about U.S. employers complaining that they have jobs available but can’t seem to find skilled workers to fill them.
Accenture posted a news release last month about a study it conducted with The Manufacturing Institute: “Skills Shortage Threatens Future Earnings and Growth Prospects of U.S. Manufacturers.”
Here’s the gist of Accenture’s report: U.S. manufacturers may be losing up to 11 percent of their annual earnings due to increased production costs as a result of the shortage of workers that have the necessary skills to get the job done right.
The study goes on for quite a while explaining the issues, but as I read it, to me the solution was entirely clear:
Instead of bemoaning the lack of skilled workers, allowing downtime increases of at least 5% because there’s no qualified staff to run/maintain equipment, and suffering with significant increases in overtime pay as skilled workers struggle to make up these shortcoming — why not simply offer training programs?
What better way to have workers with the exact skills a business needs? What better way to ensure that you find and keep the most qualified, well-rounded staff? And indeed, this was the overall conclusion of Accenture’s report:
“Successful companies spend training dollars as part of an overall strategy designed to address critical skill shortages, with clear objectives set for the short-, medium- and long-term.”
In previous blogs, I’ve discussed the lack of key soft skills like creative thinking and leadership presence in recent graduates. But the Accenture study is referring to specific hard skills that various U.S. manufacturers need in their plants, and can’t seem to find.
Soft skills … hard skills … it doesn’t matter. If you don’t possess BOTH of them, then you need to find out how you can get them.
While the specific hard skills needed may differ in various industries, key soft skills are what all employers are seeking in new hires and when promoting from within.
Here are some of the excellent, innovative and wholly doable suggestions for manufacturers from the Accenture/Manufacturing Institute report:
• Maintain a current inventory of in-house skill sets and regularly map that against current and anticipated skill needs to inform talent strategy as well as training investment decisions.
• Take advantage of digital technologies to make skills training available to employees on a self-paced basis, anytime, anywhere.
BRODY has seen an increased interest in our webinar offerings – helping connect and train remote teams.
• Engage with educators at colleges, community colleges, trade schools and high schools to build a pipeline of future skilled workers, influence curricula and lend employees to help teach specialized skills to potential manufacturing recruits of the future.
“Skill-building programs offered by professional organizations offer an avenue for manufacturers seeking to certify their people in specific skill sets,” said Jennifer McNelly, president of The Manufacturing Institute, in the Accenture study.
What if you have your sights set on management – leading and influencing others – and your hard skills are up to speed, but it’s the soft skills you are missing — communication skills, leadership skills, negotiation skills, business writing skills, and more along those lines?
As more U.S. workplaces are focusing on team-driven activities, leaders and direct reports interact more closely, and gaps in interpersonal communication skills are more apparent.
Well, that’s where companies like BRODY who offer training, coaching and other development options come into play!
It’s important to note, however, that soft skills training and coaching are not a “quick fix.” Booking one session but not adding any pull-through activities or follow-up coaching isn’t a wise investment. It takes time to adapt and adopt new workplace behaviors. Change will come, but patience is key.
Employers have to commit for the long haul to see bottom-line benefits from soft skills training.
Whether your business is in manufacturing or any other area, at BRODY we know from experience just how much these types of training topics can benefit your company, too. Contact us to learn more!