Within the next 5 years, manufacturing in the U.S. will face a major crisis due to both a shortage of skilled labor as baby boomer manufacturers retire, and a limited labor pool from which to find qualified replacements.
So says a recent survey and study from Advanced Technology Services and Nielsen Research, Baby Boomer Retirement Fuels Skilled Labor Shortage in Manufacturing; Puts U.S. Industry in Crisis.
The need to replace these lost skilled workers has grown from a concern to a wholesale crisis in just three short years, according to 100 senior manufacturing executives who were surveyed. They say the shortfall will cost their companies an average $52 million, and even more, $100 million, for the nation's largest companies who report more than $1 billion in annual revenue.
Now, if you're within just a sniff of manufacturing you've heard about or lived this issue first hand. Nothing new here, right?
Wrong.
Q: Forecasts indicate that during the next five years, approximately 40% of your skilled labor force will retire. What do you anticipate the retirement of 40% of your skilled labor force will cost your company in these five years?
A: Eighty-one percent of respondents said they would be affected by the shortage, versus 68 percent three years ago, demonstrating this issue has become of even broader concern to manufacturing executives. Further, they calculate the looming retirement of skilled workers without an adequate replacement pool will cost them an average $52.2 million from their bottom lines, compared with an average $50 million when asked in 2005. And the cost is worse for companies with more than $1 billion in annual revenue, where 44 percent say the shortage will cost them more than $100 million.
What makes this different from everything you've heard over the years is that it looks like the time is here. Another impending crisis, another batch of warnings, and what happens?
We ignore it, shrug our shoulders, and then act shocked - shocked - that it really happened.
Again.
(With that in mind, now might be a good time to revisit 2 Million Minutes and see how you feel.)
And what really makes this a potentially Katrina-like "perfect storm" for manufacturing is the abysmal response of the U.S Government. I mean, do you really need for me to remind you of all the pleading to improve our abilities to educate and/or import a decent labor force in this country?
So, instead of a well-planned, fair set of solutions designed to maintain our manufacturing (and economic) significance, we're all gonna be in a dog-eat-dog bar fight to get the talent we need and any price, all else be damned.
And in the meantime, we'll moan about China being a boogie man for doing what we did to Britain 100+ years ago. We'll point accusing fingers at China for lead paint on toys while Mattel's asleep at the switch.
Looks like all that might be left to this "perfect storm" is to see who we're gonna blame for it.
