Minnesota Manufacturing
Time is Running
Tick tock click, tick tock click. The sound you hear is an employee punching out. It's the sound of another shift over, a day's work done. And in Minnesota manufacturing firms it's a sound heard in every part of the state but not as often as is needed when a shop is understaffed. According to the latest industry report from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), the state's manufacturing industry as a whole had 7,680 vacancies in second quarter, 2006 with a median starting wage offer of $12.85 an hour.
And for many manufacturers that tick tock click could be a death knell because 2007 marks the beginning of a four-year grace period before the oldest of the baby boomers turn 65 and start to retire in large numbers. And don't expect workers to stay on the job past the age of retirement. Currently, less than two percent of persons over 65 years old keep working in manufacturing, compared to 5.4 percent in the total of all industries. The growth of vacancies for replacement workers beginning in the next four years will have HR mangers in a frenzy.
How will manufacturers fare? Some are already taking measures such as moving some production to countries with ample workers, investing in highly-automated equipment that boosts productivity, and using tuition reimbursement programs to advance the skills of incumbent workers. If you are a business owner, the employee on your shop floor today will be your front-line supervisor in a few short years. Do you know which worker that is? Have you started the grooming process yet?
If you are currently employed in the manufacturing field, plan on giving up a night or two a week for classes at your local technical or community college. The skills you have now may not be adequate to keep you on the job. The typewriters are gone, and computers rule. 
What's the parallel technology shift in your job? I've heard from some manufacturers that they are finding some qualified entry-level workers through programs such as M-Powered but cannot find enough workers at the higher-skill level from machinists to engineers, or with expertise in management skills, quality control or continuous improvement. Some of these manufacturers just wish there was something out there producing this elusive worker.
Until that time, I strongly recommend employers get proactive about building their own pipeline. Your best source of higher-skilled labor already works for you, and it behooves you to help them achieve their highest potential. In a report by RSM McGladrey, The Future Success of Small and Medium Manufacturers, one of their 15 best practices is to invest at least three percent of your payroll dollars into incumbent employee training. Industry Week reported that the IW 25 Best Plants winners and finalists in 2005 devoted as much as 6.8 percent. So while the bar has been raised for what most manufacturers require for entry-level workers, so also must the expectations made of incumbent workers. Advanced training can no longer be an opportunity for just those employees who choose to pursue it; it needs to be promoted, even mandated, for employees at every level. For more information on the education and training requirements of particular occupations and the training programs available around Minnesota, please visit www.iseek.org.-DKB
Debra Bultnick is the Manufacturing Industry Liaison for the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).
Debra.Bultnick@state.mn.us
612.298.2592