It’s Time to Face Reality: We Can’t Fill 2.1M Manufacturing Jobs. Automation is the Only Way Out.

Not only are many manufacturing jobs hard labor that require physically coming into a facility, but it’s often dangerous work. More than 135,000 work-related accidents and injuries were reported in manufacturing alone in 2020. 

Desk jobs that can now be done remotely from anywhere and at any time are much more appealing to the younger generation entering the workforce. Technology-laden positions and work-from-home flexibility trumps physically taxing manufacturing jobs.

We Need to Accept That We Can’t Fill 2.1 Million Manufacturing Jobs

According to the National Association of Manufacturers, the skills gap in the industry could result in 2.1 million unfilled jobs by 2030. Nearly every conversation I’ve had with people on the ground floor revolves around the fact that they are experiencing shortages in both operator and maintenance positions within their facilities, and they don’t know how to solve the problem.

I think a big part of the issue is that, as a society, we’ve looked down upon vocational career paths for decades. An article in NPR discussed the fact that all these blue-collar jobs sit empty while students line up for college. High schools, which were often the first place where students learned about the trades, have cut vocational training programs with only one-third providing any introductory training to blue-collar professions. Parents steer smart kids toward white-collar jobs, which, ironically, are now experiencing massive layoffs and fewer opportunities. Changing this societal attitude and the training that must follow will take time.

2023 Unemployment In White Collar Work

There’s no time like the present to begin. We are experiencing a recession of the white collar work right now. One look at the headlines and it’s easy to see that white collar workers are experiencing more layoffs, facing high unemployment rates, and seeing increased competition for fewer openings.

Compare that environment to manufacturing where there is virtually no unemployment and turnovers rate are as high as 40 percent. That means we’re trying to replace our entire workforce every 2.5 years. It’s impossible to even maintain current manufacturing needs with that level of churn, much less grow into the future.

Couple the worker shortages and high turnover rates with the rate of change and technological advancements in the manufacturing world, and you can begin to see why I think it’s impossible to hire and train our way out of this growing problem.

Automation and Innovation is Our Only Way Out

Historically, I think there’s been some fear of automation from manufacturing workers. The idea that robots are going to take all the jobs has been a sensitive topic for both employers and society alike. Yet, I believe we’ve reached the point when further automation and innovation will be the only way out of our current labor problem.

It’s time to automate as many low-skill, repetitive jobs as possible. I think we’re starting to see manufacturers make major investments in robotics and innovation. The idea of lights-out manufacturing, or the ability for mass production to occur with very limited human intervention, has been around since 1980, but must grow more rapidly. Although such robotic systems can initially be expensive, they do decrease operational costs and increase efficiency over time. 

It’s time that these technologies are taken much more seriously. We have to abandon our short- term fix of simply just throwing more people at this problem. It’s time to invest in the long-term solution and really embrace innovation.

I'm sure this idea might sound scary to those working in the industrial sector right now. No one wants to worry about their job getting automated away. Yet I think it’s important to remember that there will be 2.1 million unfilled jobs within the next several years. Yes, some of these positions might be filled through automation, but many of these positions demand a skilled human being. There are vast opportunities for more fulfilling, higher skill and higher paying jobs for those working in the industry today.

The second phase of the solution, in addition to investing in innovation, is investing in those who are currently in the field. We need to find opportunities to upskill, train and educate those employees working in low-paying, low-skill positions so they can advance in their careers and serve our manufacturing companies in ways that only human beings can. That requires developing internal training programs, taking advantage of industry or community vocational schools, and supporting a cultural change both within our factories and our society.

A New Solution To the Manufacturing Labor Shortage

As an industry, I feel like we’ve spent long enough trying to solve the problem of our ongoing labor shortage solely using hiring and retention tactics. It’s time to face the reality that there are simply not enough young people entering the current manufacturing space to fill the growing number of positions.

Instead, we need a new paradigm. We need to accelerate our focus on innovation, automation and robotics. We need to truly invest in those technologies that can do those repetitive, low-skill tasks better and more efficiently than humans. And, then we need to invest in our people, helping them to upskill, problem-solve, and rise to excel in those jobs that only humans can do.

By taking such an approach, we’ll make our manufacturing facilities more efficient, safer and more cost effective while providing higher skilled, higher paying positions for our people, allowing them to increase their earning potential and improve their quality of life.