For many manufacturers, efforts to build the next-generation workforce feel like a plot from “Mission Impossible.”
It’s estimated that nearly 3.5 million manufacturing jobs will be needed over the next 10 years, but more than half of them will go unfilled due to a shortage in qualified applicants for skilled production roles. Already, some 80 percent of manufacturers are struggling to bring new talent into the door and up through the ranks. Add to that a U.S. unemployment rate of 4.9 percent, which means more competition for skilled candidates.