Part I - Why Manufacturing Needs Them With Baby Boomers exiting the workforce at a rate of roughly 10,000 a day, coupled with the dilemma of how to interest the younger generations in manufacturing jobs, the challenge to find talent and to prevent worker shortages has and will continue to grow. The bottom line is this: the generations that come after the manufacturing-minded Baby Boomers are needed to fill in the vacancies left by the retiring boomers. While the notion of one generation following in the footsteps of their predecessors seems perfectly reasonable, logical and even predictable, it’s not happening this time around. And it’s feared that by 2025, 2 million jobs could go unfilled creating a dire predicament for manufacturers. A true conundrum that neither developed overnight nor will be remedied overnight. Yes, manufacturers need Millennials to step up into the roles left by their elders. But the manufacturing sector also needs Millennials for an entirely unrelated set of reasons. These 20- and 30-somethings who have interacted with all things technologic from a young age and are accustomed to the rapid-fire pace of innovations in the tech world, have a wealth of knowledge and experience to offer the manufacturing sector. As robotics and production line automation become increasingly common in plants, manufacturers need the skills the tech-savvy Millennials bring to the table. The $64,000 question is why some 80% of businesses are struggling to bring new talent through the door. “If there isn’t an active strategy in place to increase the number of Millennials employed within the manufacturing industry, we will miss a valuable and important opportunity to improve our workplaces and cultivate new ways of thinking,” shares Dan Campbell. Despite the grave need to entice Millennials toward the manufacturing sector, some negative attitudes toward this, the largest living generation who also possess the heftiest slice of the workforce pie, still exist. This attitude needs to change as suggested by Tim Elmore, president of Growing Leaders, who chooses to see the positive. “Despite what you might have read about Millennials in the workplace, as a generation they genuinely believe they can change their communities for the better, and the entire world for that matter.” The industry must be willing to adapt to the changing times and seek to understand what drives this generation if they want to maintain a stable workforce and work toward eliminating the skills gap. Ok – so you know you need those tech-savvy Millennials, but how can you attract them? We’ll address strategies for attracting those techy Mills to the wonderful world of manufacturing next week in Millennials – Part II. The human resource management team at MPS Technical specializes in the unique needs of precision manufacturing companies. We can help you discover the potential employees within the Millennial workforce. Contact our team today.