December Job Market Updates: Shaker’s Take
Blog
Manufacturers need to better market their industry and the careers they offer to fill the growing shortage of trained workers; a gap of skilled workers projected to reach 2 million unfilled jobs in the next 10 years.
A panel of industry experts spoke at a Daily Herald Business Ledger’s Newsmakers Forum at the Wojick Conference Center of Harper College in Palatine, Illinois on how the manufacturing industry needs to do a better job selling itself not only to Millennials who could fill a growing need for skilled employees.
The Daily Herald reported that Rich Hoster, president and COO of Smith and Richardson, a manufacturer of precision parts in Geneva said, “It is the only thing constraining our growth.”
The report also noted that “Hoster and James Carr, president of CARR Machine and Tool in Elk Grove Village, said the issue in finding and training skilled workers still lies in a stigma that exists over the industry, as well as the belief that students leaving high school must obtain a 4-year college degree to achieve a good, well-paying career.”
“It’s our job to really change the image of manufacturing,” Carr said, adding that parents and students, need to be educated about how manufacturing jobs have changed and how they can lead to a well-paying career.
“Hoster added the industry needs something similar to the dairy industry’s highly successful “Got Milk?” campaign.”
“The more word-of-mouth you can create, the more manufacturing is understood and the more people say manufacturing is a great career and a great opportunity,” Hoster said.
Therefore, it is of utmost importance that manufacturers actively interact with communities and educational institutions in order to develop awareness and interest in manufacturing careers and offer the means assisting skilled workers to find available jobs.
The Daily Herald reported that Mary Beth Ottinger, dean of career and technical programs at Harper College, outlined for the participants at the Forum, the 40 programs offered through Harper College, from the college’s Advanced Manufacturing Technology Department to certification courses, internships and partnerships. She noted that the success of the programs has been mainly through the support and commitment of local businesses and high schools.
The group also discussed the importance of having employers understand and address in their recruitment campaigns the needs and motivations of Millennials.
The presenting sponsor for the forum was Harper College. The partnering associations were GOA Regional Business Association, Management Association — the HR Source, Small Business Advocacy Council, MRA — The Management Association, The Technology and Manufacturing Association and the Valley Industrial Association.
http://www.dhbusinessledger.com/article/20160921/business/160928482/
Manufacturers need to better market their industry and the careers they offer to fill the growing shortage of trained workers; a gap of skilled workers projected to reach 2 million unfilled jobs in the next 10 years.
A panel of industry experts spoke at a Daily Herald Business Ledger’s Newsmakers Forum at the Wojick Conference Center of Harper College in Palatine, Illinois on how the manufacturing industry needs to do a better job selling itself not only to Millennials who could fill a growing need for skilled employees.
The Daily Herald reported that Rich Hoster, president and COO of Smith and Richardson, a manufacturer of precision parts in Geneva said, “It is the only thing constraining our growth.”
The report also noted that “Hoster and James Carr, president of CARR Machine and Tool in Elk Grove Village, said the issue in finding and training skilled workers still lies in a stigma that exists over the industry, as well as the belief that students leaving high school must obtain a 4-year college degree to achieve a good, well-paying career.”
“It’s our job to really change the image of manufacturing,” Carr said, adding that parents and students, need to be educated about how manufacturing jobs have changed and how they can lead to a well-paying career.
“Hoster added the industry needs something similar to the dairy industry’s highly successful “Got Milk?” campaign.”
“The more word-of-mouth you can create, the more manufacturing is understood and the more people say manufacturing is a great career and a great opportunity,” Hoster said.
Therefore, it is of utmost importance that manufacturers actively interact with communities and educational institutions in order to develop awareness and interest in manufacturing careers and offer the means assisting skilled workers to find available jobs.
The Daily Herald reported that Mary Beth Ottinger, dean of career and technical programs at Harper College, outlined for the participants at the Forum, the 40 programs offered through Harper College, from the college’s Advanced Manufacturing Technology Department to certification courses, internships and partnerships. She noted that the success of the programs has been mainly through the support and commitment of local businesses and high schools.
The group also discussed the importance of having employers understand and address in their recruitment campaigns the needs and motivations of Millennials.
The presenting sponsor for the forum was Harper College. The partnering associations were GOA Regional Business Association, Management Association — the HR Source, Small Business Advocacy Council, MRA — The Management Association, The Technology and Manufacturing Association and the Valley Industrial Association.
http://www.dhbusinessledger.com/article/20160921/business/160928482/