Manufacturers Jumping on the Industrial Training Bandwagon

It should come as no surprise that many manufacturers both large and small are facing a severe shortage when it comes to finding a skilled production workforce. Because the skilled labor gap continues to widen, manufacturers are stepping up, finding training partners and implementing industrial training on their own in order to remain competitive and to meet their plant’s needs.

Darlene Miller, CEO of Permac Industries, said “Finding skilled and trained workers is almost impossible. I used employment agencies. Our people used Craigslist, the workforce centers, state boards, college boards, technical schools, every concept you can think of, and still we could not find that trained person.” As technology continues to advance, Miller also noted that finding employees that are trained to operate the latest equipment are even tougher to come by.

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing of North America has felt many of the same pressures as Permac Industries. Assistant manager Dennis Dio Parker at Georgetown, Kentucky’s Toyota plant pointed out that a large percentage of the plant’s workforce is due to retire in the upcoming years. The Kentucky plant has been in business for 26 years and has a workforce made up of nearly 600 skilled maintenance-technician positions.

Maintenance training in particular is critical to any manufacturing plant’s success. Without proper maintenance training as part of an industrial training program, factory equipment performance will prove to be subpar and perhaps even fail. However, with quality maintenance training issues like these can be easily avoided.

Due to the skilled labor shortage, many manufacturers are finding it harder to fuel innovation and growth. In an attempt to change the pace and encourage a skilled labor workforce many manufacturers like Permac Industries and Toyota have begun to actively participate in the industrial training game by partnering with manufacturing organizations, community colleges, government resources and training providers. By doing so, these businesses are one step closer to developing a qualified workforce. No matter whether you are training new hires or existing employees a quality industrial training program is essential to the success of any manufacturing business. Call ITC Learning today to learn more about how our industrial training courseware can help advance your employees’ skills sets and ultimately boost both production and your bottom lie.

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