The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the manufacturing industry is profound. Some manufacturers experienced a sharp decline in demand, while some had to increase their capacity to meet the sudden demand surges. The lockdown measures led to temporary or permanent business shutdowns, eliminating thousands of jobs and derailing the global supply chains. On the bright side, these challenges have pushed manufacturers to adopt advanced technologies that improve productivity and keep operations running in a crisis and beyond. However, these technologies require greater technical and problem-solving skills, highlighting the skills gap in manufacturing. It calls for addressing the needs and challenges of creating a post-pandemic manufacturing workforce. So what are the skills required to operate advanced technologies? What education and training programs are available to bridge the skills gap? What role does diversity play in building a robust talent pipeline?

In this discussion, Urban Manufacturing Alliance’s Industry & Inclusion Cohort and Board members gathered to discuss the strategies needed to build an advanced manufacturing workforce. The panelists talked about the need to increase diversity and the challenges women and communities of color face while accessing education and training programs. The panel also discussed how manufacturers and workforce development organizations could ensure that workers possess the necessary foundational and digital skills required for projected jobs and leverage new technologies to attract untapped talent. 

The discussion featured our Industry & Inclusion cohort, Tarika Barrett, COO of Girls Who Code, and Sarah Krasley, CEO of Shimmy Technologies. It was facilitated by Elmer Moore Jr., Executive Director at Scale Up Milwaukee. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS 

Increasing diversity can reduce the skills shortage in manufacturing. 

While manufacturers are rapidly incorporating advanced technologies to increase agility and build resilience for future uncertainties, they find it challenging to attract and retain workers who keep pace with the changing demands of digitization. In addition, an aging workforce and manufacturing’s negative public image contribute to the prevailing skills shortage, causing more problems for manufacturers. However, practitioners believe that employing more women and people of color can help manufacturers close the gap and gain a competitive edge. Tarika Barrett, COO of Girls Who Code, mentioned that similar to the manufacturing sector, white men dominate the field she works in – tech – because people of color and women often have less access to education and training programs, making them ineligible for high-wage jobs. There is also a common misconception that industrial jobs are labor-intensive, making women feel unwelcome. Tarika added “using technology for talent development” could allow women and Black people to see themselves working in jobs that require greater technical skills. As an example, Sarah Krasley, CEO of Shimmy Technologies, mentioned that her organization uses mobile app games (e.g. Candy Crush) to train female garment workers and create talent pipelines across geographies — simultaneously upskilling workers and demonstrating their abilities. Erica Staley, Executive Director at Manufacturing Renaissance, said building connections with education policy partners and other community-based stakeholders could attract talent from marginalized communities with training and mentorship programs. Panelists also emphasized that manufacturers could offer job-specific training to enhance diversity at all job levels and be more explicit about their organization’s diversity and inclusion goals. However, Catrina Crane, Director of Workforce & Business Solution at Menomonee Valley Partners, commented that workforce organizations need to understand that “fundamental doesn’t mean the same for every business,” making it necessary to get on the same page with each individual company and find the often systemic issues that are preventing them from having brown and Black people in skilled and management positions. 

Fundamental training is not just about hard skills.

The rise of automation in manufacturing is increasing both the need for more technical skills training, but also the demand for soft/ professional skills (e.g. problem-solving, teamwork, communication) to enhance productivity and output. These dual needs call for a long-term partnership between manufacturers, workforce development organizations, and educational institutions to create a skilled workforce for the future that includes on-the-job training and on-going mentoring. Brittany Becker, Program Manager at MAGNET, mentioned that providing soft skills training to high school students at the front end builds competitiveness and increases the employer’s tendency to retain workers, creating long-term career opportunities in the manufacturing industry. Similarly, Jacqui Mieksztyn, Program Manager at LIFT, said that developing a curriculum that includes project-based learning could allow students to gain those soft skills and apply them to a project in a real world situation. Erica Staley of Manufacturing Renaissance reiterated that contextualizing the training programs could make the learning experience relevant and allow the workers to take ownership of their learning — helping them understand the process and their role in it more fully. 

Training is not just for the production workers. 

If companies truly want to hire and train a new, diverse generation of workers, they also need to address the lack of diversity and inclusion at the management level. In many companies, there is a need for culturally competent managers who have the training to work with this new workforce and increase feelings of belonging in work environments. Tarika Barrett mentioned that Girls Who Code started hosting leadership roundtable discussions to create a space for their management employees to talk freely about issues or questions, and reflect on the things that have been done or things that need to be continued to perpetuity. Tarika added that these discussions built connections between the leadership team and led to the addition of the microaggression policy in their employee handbook. Sarah Krasley mentioned that Shimmy Technologies trains current workers who could be managers, but who are often overlooked by current leadership, by giving them situations where they lead their team and solve problems within their training. Sarah also said that while increasing diversity in the company, “middle management needs to be trained to understand how they can make an environment that’s inclusive for people who haven’t been there before.” It’s an excellent step for C-Suite level leaders to acknowledge and implement DEI initiatives; however, these conversations highlight the importance of training management-level employees, as well.