Bridging the Talent Gap in Manufacturing and Engineering: HR’s Strategic Role
Finding top talent to fill roles in manufacturing and engineering has already been challenging within food processing and CPG. For over a decade Frank Group has helped companies overcome these challenges through niche placement services. In today’s rapidly evolving industrial landscape the demand for these professionals will only increase as companies attempt to dodge weighty tariffs and reshore production. In talent areas that are already experiencing shortages many are speculating that AI and robotics might fill the gaps. Despite these technological advancements the growing need for skilled professionals will have internal recruitment teams trying to get blood out of a stone.
Why Is Manufacturing and Engineering Talent So Hard to Find?
- Skill Shortages: Many roles require a blend of technical know-how and hands-on experience, which takes years to accumulate. As AI and robotics continue to improve by leaps in bounds, the amount of learning needed to work with those elements has matched pace. Gone are the days of a plant floor with exclusively human outputs.
- Aging Workforce: A large percentage of experienced workers are nearing retirement, creating a gap that younger generations aren’t yet prepared to fill. Unfortunately, in the United States, in a service centered economy, jobs that were more “hands on” in nature became less desirable and underpromoted to young people entering the workforce.
- Industry Perception: Manufacturing is often viewed as less attractive than tech or service sector jobs, leading to fewer applicants. When dealing with individuals of high aptitude there is an element of “prestige” desired. Being able to communicate the value of producing something tangible to society at large is necessary.
- Slow Hiring Processes: It’s one thing to modernize a wheat processing plant in the middle of rural North Dakota, it’s another to find someone with the specialized skills to monitor the equipment willing to live there. This results in smaller candidate pools and longer time-to-hire.
HR Solutions to Address the Gap
- Strengthen Employer Branding: Human Resources can work on reshaping public perception by showcasing innovation, career growth, and sustainability efforts within the company. Use social media, videos, and employee stories to bring the workplace culture to life. Work to bring manufacturing sector into the modern world and tell youth entering the workplace that those professions can be as applicable to them as they were their grandparents.
- Invest in Training and Development: Partner with local learning institutions to help build a pipeline of skilled workers. This can be as simple as making relationships with engineering programs at universities and reaching out to technical schools. Creating your own internal pipeline by offering apprenticeships, internships, or on-the-job training can also be a long-term solution.
- Revisit Job Requirements: Sometimes the “perfect” candidate doesn’t exist. HR can work with hiring managers to identify which qualifications are essential and which can be learned on the job.
- Speed Up Recruitment: Streamlining the hiring process, improving communication with candidates, and making faster decisions can prevent losing talent to faster-moving competitors. Try bringing an external recruitment team that can leverage their industry specialization and networks to get positions filled with the right person.
- Offer Competitive Benefits: Beyond salary, highlight work-life balance, flexibility, learning opportunities, and pathways to advancement—things younger talent especially values. One highlight of emerging generations is their comfort with setting boundaries for their professional lives. Building an environment that honors that will aid in retention.
By taking a strategic approach to workforce development, HR teams can help manufacturing and engineering companies not only fill roles but attract and retain the kind of talent that drives long-term innovation and success.
