Rethink How You Recruit for Manufacturing Jobs
Michelle Benjamin, CEO and founder of Benjamin Enterprises and Pivot Partners, writing for the Industry Market Trends section of ThomasNet.com, says, “Gone are the days of manufacturing lines with manual processes overseen by several employees. Gone too are the days of a high school education being sufficient to secure and maintain one of these positions. Today’s high-tech manufacturing jobs require employees to be computer savvy, able to multi-task, and able to transfer seamlessly between production processes.”
The biggest challenge facing manufacturing recruitment may be overcoming biases younger people have against accepting jobs in that field. According to a Fabrication and Manufacturers Study, reported at Forbes.com, “52% of U.S. teenagers have little or no interest in a manufacturing career. When asked why, the young respondents said they thought manufacturing was a declining field, with unprofessional, dead-end jobs, dirty factories and frequent layoffs.”
That same article identifies why there is going to be a pressing need for younger workers as the manufacturing workforce gets older. “Older employees are leaving the workforce at a faster rate than qualified workers are being hired to replace them,” the article says, citing these U.S. Census Bureau statistics:
- 7,918 people turn 60 years of age every day; 330 an hour
- The number of U.S. people age 55 and older will increase 73 percent by 2020
- The number of younger workers will grow only by 5 percent
Successful recruiters for manufacturing jobs will take these steps, Benjamin advises:
- Rethink Your Talent Pool
- Get Competitive Creatively
- Build and Strengthen Alliances
- Recruit and Promote Socially
- Use Your Current Workforce
The talent pool for manufacturing jobs used to be easy to identify, Benjamin recalls. Target those students not going on to higher education or into the military after high school. That’s no longer true because a high school education may no longer be enough.
“Community colleges, technical high schools, and vocational institutes are better facilities to look to when recruiting. If you don’t already have an established relationship with one of these education fixtures, it is a good idea to cultivate one. By having this relationship, the institution can make you aware of upcoming graduates who can fulfill your employment needs,” she advises.
Workers are obviously attracted to higher salaries but that may not be a possibility for some companies. Benjamin suggests employers look at their benefits package, as well as the corporate culture for things like workplace safety and even an engaging break room area. Even increasing your corporate philanthropy could make you more appealing to younger workers.
“All of these non-salary areas can have an impact on a potential employee’s impression of your company. In many cases, these variables can make a bigger impact on a potential employee’s decision than salary alone to join your team,” Benjamin says.
Strengthening alliances can be as simple as reaching out to other manufacturing companies that may have an overflow of applicants for positions your company needs to fill.
Just as with all other recruiting from C-level executives down to custodians, companies need to have a social media presence to hire in the manufacturing field. “Manufacturing organizations should not only be posting positions online — via job posting sites, the corporate website, and social media channels such as LinkedIn — they should be promoting their workplace culture and company identity,” Benjamin says.
Finally, the best recruiters continue to be a company’s own employees. “Your employees know the requirements for the positions and can pass on that information to qualified candidates. This will make the recruiter’s job easier since the candidates are qualified and not just submitting resumes to posted job openings,” Benjamin concludes.