Insert graphic here:
width: 175px
height: 64px
 |
|||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
For Immediate Release
SHORTAGE OF SKILLED WORKERS WORRISOME FOR STATE'S MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY Calls for more education and training, and partnerships with state colleges and universities
A shortage of skilled workers and concern over the impending retirements of baby boomers are threatening Connecticut 's manufacturing industry, which is vital to the state's overall economic health. Those challenges combined with the difficulties filling specific jobs and the lack of basic technical skills have led to the call for more training and educational opportunities. And many manufacturers are providing in-house employee training and fostering relationships with colleges and technical high schools to better educate their workers. Those are some of the key findings of the 2007 Survey of Current and Future Manufacturing Jobs in Connecticut. The CBIA Education Foundation, in partnership with the Regional Center for Next Generation Manufacturing and RSM McGladrey Inc., conducted the survey to determine current and future hiring needs, pressing issues facing employers, education and training issues, and ways to ensure a healthy manufacturing environment in Connecticut. "Connecticut manufacturers have a willingness and desire to innovate and grow, but they will need to counteract the compound effects of a retiring workforce and the brain drain of younger, skilled workers leaving the state, in order to continue operating and competing today, tomorrow and well into the future, said Peter Gioia, CBIA vice president and economist. The average age of manufacturing workers is between 40 and 59, and the majority (92 percent) of respondents said they will need to replace retiring workers to keep up with increased business over the next five years. Eighty-six percent of respondents said they will need to increase their workforce over the next five years because of new products, sales or expansion. That's up from 79 percent in 2005. "Manufacturers are having difficulties filling open positions today, and the problem will only worsen in the future unless we take action, said Gioia. Manufacturers responding to the survey said the top five most difficult positions to fill are:
The majority (70 percent) of respondents said the main reason for their hiring difficulties is that applicants don't have the necessary skills needed to fill open positions. That's up from 49 percent in 2005. Other factors cited include a lack of interest in manufacturing (50 percent), lack of job readiness or overall employability (44 percent), and not getting job applicants (29 percent). Respondents said the skills most commonly lacking among applicants for manufacturing jobs are:
"It's alarming that employees are most lacking in technical skills, said Thomas G. Murphy, executive vice president of manufacturing and wholesale distribution at RSM McGladrey Inc. These manufacturing-related, job-specific vocation skills are vital to manufacturers seeking to remain competitive. Manufacturers have made it clear that the cornerstone of a successful manufacturing-related educational curriculum is an application component where students learn, hands-on, the practical skills that they will need on a day-to-day basis. Manufacturers are taking steps to address these issues through training programs for current employees, but they are clearly interested in widening their talent pool by working directly with the state's educational institutions. "The data collected will provide educators with critical information that will enable us to design curriculum and develop new programs that prepare students for the 21st century manufacturing workforce, said Karen Birch, executive director of the Regional Center for Next Generation Manufacturing. Manufacturers expressed satisfaction with the quality of job candidates graduating from private four-year colleges and universities (83 percent), UConn (74 percent), the Connecticut State University System (74 percent) or community colleges (67 percent). But they were less satisfied with graduates of technical high schools (55 percent) or comprehensive high schools (36 percent). "In order to sustain a strong manufacturing climate, we must continue to develop partnerships with educational institutions and manufacturers to ensure that Connecticut students are graduating with the skills needed to be successful in the future, while providing the manufacturing industry with the robust labor pool it needs to be innovative and thrive in the future, said Lauren Weisberg Kaufman, CBIA vice president of education and job training and executive director of the CBIA Education Foundation. CBIA received 241 responses to surveys sent out by mail and e-mail in February 2007. The survey has a response rate of 16 percent and a margin of error of plus or minus 6 percent. CBIA is Connecticut 's largest business organization, with 10,000 members. ### For a complete copy of the survey, visit www.cbia.com/newsroom/surveys. For more information contact Nancy Andrews, CBIA media relations manager, at 860-244-1957 or andrewsn@cbia.com. 350 Church
Street · Hartford, CT 06103-1126 · cbia.com/newsroom
|
 |
© Copyright 2003 Connecticut Business & Industry Association, cbia.com. All rights reserved. |
 |
